


NERV-ous Headache

by Yinepuhotep



Category: Knights in Tarnished Armor, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Crossover, F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 101,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yinepuhotep/pseuds/Yinepuhotep
Summary: Once again, Fred gets Banished to another world. THIS world is one which makes him wonder at the sanity of the universe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new world, and an alien named Sachiel?

_"This is weird,"_ Edgar said into Fred's mind as Fred pinched his eyes together and looked around from his position in space. _"Earth is right where it should be, except it's tilted dramatically, and I'm getting less than half the chatter I should be. Lots of flooding – not surprising, given that where Antarctica used to have an ice shelf, it now has a crater almost as large as Tycho."_

_"Frak,"_ Fred thought back. _"Half the chatter probably means half the population. OK, where's the biggest population center?"_

_"Would you believe the mountains of Japan?"_ Edgar answered. _"There's a city in Hakone, on the shore of Lake Ashi, where Sengokuhara used to be."_

_"Weird,"_ Fred thought. _"Tokyo's gone, then?"_

_"Under at least fifty meters of water,"_ Edgar said. _"Must have been a lot of subsidence in addition to the flooding from the melt."_

_"All right, then,"_ Fred sighed. _"Might as well see what trouble they're having. I get the feeling I'm not going to like this, at all."_

_"As if we ever do?"_ Edgar asked, as Fred pointed himself toward Japan and dropped into the atmosphere. _"At least there's no Genom Tower this time."_

_"Yeah, but they were easy,"_ Fred snorted. _"What the Hell is that?"_

_"Weirdest alien I've ever seen,"_ Edgar replied. _"Looks like the JSDF is out in force."_

As they approached the Kanto mountains, Fred zoomed in his vision and saw the tanks, aircraft and artillery, all with UN markings, rather than JSDF, unload shells and missiles on the alien, which was walking like Gojira through a city.

_"That's got to be a biological robot,"_ Fred mused. _"It's completely impractical for a life-form. Aside from the size, and the shoulder armor that makes raising its arms almost impossible, that face on its chest looks like some kind of mask, not an actual functional face."_

Just then, the creature extended what looked like a hydraulic piston through the palm of its right hand, far enough to punch through one of the aircraft harassing it.

_"Definitely a biological robot,"_ Edgar agreed. _"The question is, who or what is controlling it, and why is it attacking that city?"_

_"And why are the UN troops doing more damage to the city than the robot is?"_ Fred snorted. _"Not that I expect anything less from them."_

A squadron of bombers flew overhead and began dropping heavy bombs on the thing, while others launched missiles at it. As the ordinance fell, the robot generated a defensive field that stopped not only the bombs and missiles, but their blasts as well. Each impact, whether of a solid piece of ordinance or of a blast wave, produced a pattern of octagons around the point of impact, that spread out to cover the field around the robot.

_"I've never seen a force field do that before,"_ Fred thought. _"What can we tell about it?"_

_"It's a biological construct,"_ Edgar said. _"It's …."_ Edgar stopped. Fred began to worry – Edgar never stopped like that. _"It's like the shell that contains and protects a soul, but amplified to such a high level that it can be used as a force field. Hell, at that level, it could probably even be used as a weapon, if the wielder understands it well enough."_

_"You mean that's basically an ego wall?"_ Fred asked, while staring at the fireworks.

_"An ego wall like you could generate, Dad,"_ Edgar said. _"Whatever that robot is, it's either powered or controlled by something that's as powerful as you."_

_"But not as powerful as Hel?"_ Fred asked, while studying the robot. _"Good. That means there's a chance."_

The robot, apparently tired of the petty annoyances around it, turned away from them and walked over a ridge, away from the city and toward something that was generating enough energy to pick up through the mountains. As the robot walked over the ridge, all of the remaining aircraft quickly flew away, while the ground vehicles pulled back into highway tunnels and behind smaller ridges.

_"You don't seriously think …?"_ Fred mused, an instant before his Ravenfield went totally black, absorbing the blast of whatever had just detonated on the robot. _"Weird. I'm not seeing any radiation."_

_"That's because there isn't,"_ Edgar said. _"This world seems to have discovered an explosive that's as effective as a nuclear device, without actually being nuclear."_

_"Wonderful,"_ Fred groaned. _"That means they're going to be less resistant to using it."_ He sighed heavily. _"All right, let's get close and see how much of that robot is left."_

_"If its field held up, it's going to be unscratched, you realize,"_ Edgar said.

_"So we hope its field didn't hold up,"_ Fred said. _"Because if I were driving it and someone did that to me, I'd be pissed. Especially …"_ He paused as the area the detonation had taken place in came into view. "...especially if they did it in the middle of a city."

The firestorm around the robot died down, revealing that it was standing in the middle of a grid of streets, with metal plates and hatches in the ground where buildings should be. The robot's shoulder armor appeared to have melted some in the blast, and it was standing as if caught in the middle of a reboot. Suddenly, openings appeared on its legs, like a shark's gill slits, and steam hissed out of the openings. Then, the area around the face on its chest bulged and quivered, like a tumor in a bad monster movie, and a second face manifested beside the first one.

_"Little god,"_ Fred heard in his mind. The voice seemed hollow, but at the same time, surprised. _"Do not interfere."_

_"Interfere in what?"_ Fred shot back. _"So far, all I've seen is a biological robot shrugging off the best weapons the locals could throw at it._

_"They call me Sachiel,"_ the voice said. _"I am here to rescue Adam."_

_"All right,"_ Fred said. _"A rescue mission is something I can support."_

_"Good,"_ Sachiel said, as it turned and walked toward its destination. _"Please stand back. There may be explosions."_

_"Where_ _is he_ _?"_ Fred asked, following the robot.

_"Under this city,"_ Sachiel said. _"This city was built by the humans to imprison_ _him_ _, and to keep_ _his_ _rescuers away."_

_"This entire city is a prison?"_ Fred growled, feeling anger building.

_"Yes,"_ Sachiel said, then eye lasers fired from its second face, into the ground. An explosion rumbled through the ground, and one of the metal plates vanished into a metal-lined hole that looked as if it were designed as a heavy equipment lift.

_"Wait, wait!"_ Fred called. _"Are all the humans guilty of this?"_

_"No,"_ Sachiel said. _"Most of them do not even know that Adam_ _is_ _here."_

_"Then let me see what I can do,"_ Fred said. _"I'll try to rescue_ _him_ _, if you'll let the innocent humans live."_

_"You?"_ Sachiel asked, turning its faces on Fred. _"You would help us? Why?"_

_"I like humans,"_ Fred said. _"And I don't like punishing the innocent for the crimes of the guilty."_

_"They breed like germs,"_ Sachiel said, _"and are as hard on the planet. Why does it matter?"_

_"They're sapient,"_ Fred said. _"Sapients should only be punished for their own crimes, not those of others."_

_"An interesting perspective,"_ Sachiel said. _"Very well. I will withdraw so you can attempt your rescue."_

Fred began descending toward the hole Sachiel had left in the ground, when a hatch suddenly opened in the street, a set of tracks popped up through the opening, and then another biological robot, this one covered in purple armor, trailing an enormous power cable, slammed into place on a high-speed rail car. The robot took a step, as if its pilot didn't know how to make it work, then another step, and another. Fred started toward the robot, and Sachiel held up a hand.

_"I will deal with this,"_ Sachiel said, as it walked toward the purple robot. _"You find Adam."_

_"All right,"_ Fred said, and started for the opening the robot had popped out of. The hatch slammed shut as quickly as it had opened, leaving Fred above ground, where he saw Sachiel grab the purple robot by the head and slam its piston ram into the head repeatedly, until it punched through the armor, and then through the head.

_"Good thing the pilot's not in the head,"_ Edgar commented. _"Weird thing, though. I'm picking up two souls in that robot. Both of them are human."_

_"Two?"_ Fred asked. _"Weird. So the robot's alive, and not merely animated?"_

_"Seems that way,"_ Edgar said.

Sachiel tossed the purple robot back into a building, where it sat, blood spraying from its head, supported by the building, as if dead. The appearance of death lasted only a few moments, though. Suddenly, the robot's head snapped up, it gave out an animalistic roar, and charged Sachiel, its movements entirely different from the movements it had been making just moments before.

_"Second soul?"_ Fred thought.

_"Definitely,"_ Edgar agreed. _"And the second soul is out for blood."_

_"I'll say,"_ Fred said. _"It moves like Elsie does when she's berserking."_

Just before impact, Sachiel erected its ego wall. The purple robot growled and jammed its fingers into the field, and lights flared at the point of contact, expanding in octagonal rings. Suddenly, the purple robot's hands sank into the ego wall, and it ripped it open, as if it were ripping open a wooden fence.

"How the Hell?" Fred gasped.

_"The robot synched its own ego wall with the one Sachiel erected,"_ Edgar said. "For just long enough to rip it open, the purple robot and Sachiel were united."

"Damn...," Fred breathed, as he watched the two robots battle.

Sachiel held its ground, as if it was not intending to give up what it had worked so hard to achieve. It fired its eye lasers, causing an explosion several thousand yards away when it missed the purple robot. In response, the purple robot slashed at Sachiel's faces with its claws, then grabbed its arms and snapped them like twigs. Still holding the broken arms, the purple robot kicked Sachiel in the faces, sending it flying back until it smashed into a building.

The purple robot charged and smashed into Sachiel, pushing the building back several hundred yards, then knelt atop the two-faced robot and began pounding its fists into Sachiel's faces. When one face began to crack, like an overstressed mask, Sachiel leaped up and wrapped itself around the purple robot's head.

_"Remember your promise, little god!"_ Sachiel called, then exploded in a blast that blew away all the loose debris within a mile of the detonation, and sent a column of fire into the sky.

As the fire died away, the purple robot took several steps toward the hatch it had entered the battle through, then fell to the ground like an exhausted berserker.

"That cannot be good," Fred mused. "Sachiel didn't even have the chance to tell any of its kind about our agreement."

_"Time to scoot, Dad,"_ Edgar said. _"The locals are sending recovery teams."_

_"So you got into their network?"_ Fred asked, then snorted. _"As if I needed to ask."_

_"The Magi are helping me set us up with a fake identity right now,"_ Edgar said. _"We'll be able to pick up our 'replacement' papers at the local police station in a few minutes. Just as soon as it's back above ground."_

_"The Magi, huh?"_ Fred asked. _"What are they?"_

_"AIs the locals have set up to run their networks and manage their defense systems,"_ Edgar said. _"This whole place is run by some guy named Gendo Ikari. The purple robot was piloted by his son, who he coerced into piloting it by threatening to send out an injured pilot."_ Edgar paused, then returned, his voice nearly as angry as Fred. _"Dad, those pilots are fourteen years old. The one he was going to send out is a girl whose information is buried behind enough security it'll take me a couple days to get through it. All I know about her right now is that her name is Rei Ayanami, and in her condition, if she'd piloted that robot, she would have died."_

_"Right,"_ Fred growled. _"So Gendo Ikari needs to go. Anyone else?"_

_"I'm getting information about NERV, which is apparently the organization that controls this city," Edgar said, "and about a group that calls itself SEELE, which are apparently this planet's shadow government. Damn, Dad, the more information I dig out of the Magi, the creepier this place gets. It's going to take me a few days to go through all of what I'm getting, but right now, it seems like Sachiel's people are the least offensive of the bunch, other than those kids they're coercing into piloting the robots. They call the robots Evangelions, and … Frak. Dad, they know the Evangelions have souls. They designed them that way. The one the boy is piloting has his mother's soul. She somehow managed to fuse herself with the robot, without anyone in charge knowing."_

_"Think we can talk to her?"_ Fred mused.

_"We can try,"_ Edgar said. _"It'll be hard to pull it off without NERV knowing."_ He chuckled. _"Just my kind of challenge. I'll get right on that."_

_"Good job,"_ Fred said, grinning. "Meanwhile, let's... oh dear. Someone didn't get out of the combat zone soon enough. Time for some rescue work."

Fred landed in an alley near a collapsed apartment building, and walked toward the rubble, where he found a boy in a track suit trying to help an unconscious girl.

"Whoa, there," Fred said as he crouched and quickly scanned the girl. "Hold her head, so it doesn't move. I'll get the concrete."

"Thanks, Mister," the boy said, and scrambled to hold the girl's head. Once he was in place, he began whispering frantically, "Hold on, Aiko. We'll get you out of here. Hold on."

Fred tossed aside the rubble that was covering the girl, and gave a whistle of surprise. Somehow, the only real injury she had was to her head, but that was enough to put her into a coma. Her life signs were low enough that a casual exam would have assumed she was dead, but her heart was still beating.

_"What do we tell the kid?"_ Edgar asked. _"I'm not picking up any brain activity other than the basic life-support signals."_

_"Frak,"_ Fred muttered. _"Nothing?"_

_"Nothing,"_ Edgar said. _"Without a miracle, this girl's never waking up."_

"Shit," Fred muttered. "This is the part of this job I hate the most."

"What is?" the boy asked, looking up from the girl. Seeing the look on Fred's face, he shook his head. "No! No, she's not dead! I can feel it! She's not dead, I tell you!"

"Her body isn't," Fred agreed. "But her spirit is with the kami."

"No!" the boy yelled, his body quivering in a way that told Fred the only thing keeping him from launching himself at Fred was the need to hold the girl. "No! She's not dead! I promised I'd protect her! She can't be dead! She … she can't be!"

_"I've diverted an ambulance here,"_ Edgar told Fred. _"It should be arriving any moment."_

"Look, kid," Fred said. "There's an ambulance coming. They'll take care of her. You can let them take over from here."

"I'll make him pay," the boy said softly. "I'll make that pilot pay for what he did. If he hadn't been so clumsy…."

"Yeah," Fred said. "Someone who doesn't even want to pilot one of those monstrosities can be like that. Especially if he's thrown into the cockpit without any training."

"Without any training?" the boy yelled. "What are you talking about? They wouldn't let anyone pilot one of those without training! That's impossible!"

"That's NERV," Fred said, shrugging. "Just remember that if you ever meet the pilot. He didn't have any idea what he was doing, and he didn't want to be there. The only reason he's still alive is that his robot protected him."

"That … can't be," the boy said, with less conviction. "Why would they do that? Why would they do that?"

"To keep the …" Fred started

_"Angel, Dad,"_ Edgar said. _"They're calling them angels."_

"...angel from blowing up their headquarters," Fred said. "That's the military for you."

"They …," the boy trailed off, his expression filled with horror and disgust.

"Here comes the ambulance," Fred said, hearing the sound of sirens approaching. "Time for me to go."

"Wait!" the boy said. "What's your name?"

"Call me Raven," Fred said, then grinned as he activated his Ravenfield and flew away.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adventures in teaching.
> 
> Yes, I know this version of Misato is a bit different from the original. All will be explained...eventually.

"Aida, Kensuke," Fred called, trailing his finger down the list of students awaiting him in the last class of the day.

"Yes, Sensei!" A boy with freckles and large, wire-framed glasses answered. Fred felt an instant liking for the boy.

"Ayanami, Rei," Fred called, and looked across the class to see who answered.

"Yes, sensei," a blue-haired girl with her right arm in a cast and bandages around her head and over her right eye, said quietly. She looked back at Fred with the honesty of someone for whom human customs were foreign. He found himself automatically smiling at her, and saw a small smile appear on her face in return.

"Horaki, Hikari," Fred called, tearing his attention away from the injured girl, who he could see watching him even when he looked away.

"Yes, Sensei!," a brown-haired freckled girl said, popping to her feet and bowing. "Hikari Horaki, representative, Class 2-A, Sensei!"

"Relax, Horaki," Fred chuckled. "I'm not going to do an inspection." He paused, then added, the opportunity too good to resist, "Today."

"Yes, Sensei!" Hikari stammered, radiating a sense of worry that something might be wrong with the class, while Fred chuckled, smiling.

"Ikari, Shinji!" Fred called.

"Yes, sensei," a dark-haired boy near the back of the class answered, in a tone that implied he would rather be anywhere other than in that classroom at that moment.

_"So that's the boy whose father coerced him into piloting, eh?"_ Edgar commented. _"Looks like he's still not happy."_

_"Can't blame him,"_ Fred thought. _"As far as I can tell, the only good thing his father did was send him away when he was young, and given how young he was, he probably thinks he did something to make his father hate him."_

_"Makes him way too easy to manipulate,"_ Edgar commented.

Fred ran down several more names, until he hit one that he remembered from tapping into the emergency net after Sachiel's destruction.

"Suzahara, Toji!" Fred called.

"Apologies, Sensei!" Hikari said, bouncing to her feet. "Suzahara-kun is at the hospital with his sister."

"Still?" Fred asked. "According to this, his sister was injured when someone stepped on his family's apartment during that battle a couple weeks ago."

Shinji cringed as Fred mentioned the battle he had been a part of, and his face flushed.

"His father and grandfather work in NERV headquarters," Hikari said, "so he's the only one available to sit with his sister."

"You've been making sure he gets his assignments, though, right?" Fred asked.

"Yes, Sensei!" Hikari said, blushing.

"Good," Fred said. "In that case, it's time for me to introduce myself. I am Professor MacManus. I'll be teaching science for the rest of the year, so I hope you're prepared for something different. Open your laptops and you'll see today's materials."

Once they'd gotten into the materials, the class settled down, and Fred actually detected some enthusiasm, especially from Kensuke. While the class worked on their assignment, Fred sat at the teacher's desk and sent instant messages to Shinji and Rei.

"Unless you have training scheduled, meet with me after class," Fred's message said.

"Yes, sensei," Rei's response came instantly.

"Why?" Shinji's response said.

"You'll have to decide that for yourself," Fred answered. "All I can say is that I will never lie to you like your father. What I have to say can only be discussed in person."

"All right," Shinji said. "I'll be there."

The rest of the class went as the day had: most of the students barely grasped enough of the materials to retain what they would need for their exams, a couple were obviously in way over their heads, and Kensuke and Rei devoured the material like it was candy.

When the bell rang, and all the students but those chosen for the day's cleaning detail filed out, Fred made notes on the work sent by the students from their laptops, closed his official school laptop, and looked up to see Rei and Shinji standing in front of him, while Kensuke stood to one side, practically bouncing.

"Let me clear this up first," Fred said, as he held up a finger to Rei and Shinji, and looked toward Kensuke. "Yes, Aida-kun?"

"Are you going to be taking over the science club, Sensei?" Kensuke asked, his voice quivering with excitement.

"I may be assisting in advising it," Fred said, "but my primary duty will be with the philosophy club."

"But, we don't even have a philosophy club!" Kensuke protested.

"We do now," Fred said. "But don't worry, I'll be helping with the science club, too. It will just have to be my secondary focus. Now, don't you want to get out of here before Horaki-chan notices you and drafts you to help with the cleaning?"

"Good point," Kensuke said, and quickly left the room.

"Philosophy club, sensei?" Rei asked. "What would that entail?"

"We can talk about that later, if you'd like," Fred said, giving her a warm smile, while thinking, _"And I would like you to be an important part of it."_

_"How did you know?"_ Rei thought back.

_"I suspected,"_ Fred thought. _"I wasn't one hundred percent certain until I tried. Your mind is as powerful as you are beautiful."_

_"I … am beautiful?"_ Rei thought, her eyes widening with surprise.

_"Very,"_ Fred thought in reply. _"I would not be surprised if Shinji's efficiency is reduced around you, except when he believes he is protecting you."_

_"You … would not be wrong,"_ Rei thought. _"But how do you know about that?"_

_"That's what I need to talk with you and Shinji about, together,"_ Fred said. _"But I would feel honored to have your company whenever you wish to offer it. For now, though, let's not leave Shinji out in the cold."_ Fred gave Shinji a thoughtful look, then said, "Come. We should find a room that isn't being cleaned, if we are going to talk without disruption."

Rei nodded and turned toward the door, grabbed Shinji's arm just above his wrist, and dragged him along with her as she followed Fred.

"Rei!" Shinji protested. "Ow!"

"Keep up," Rei said simply, releasing Shinji's arm. He rubbed where she had gripped it and muttered under his breath as he followed them.

Fred found the room he had been looking for – a room in which he had already fixed the monitoring devices to transmit continual images of Gao Gai Gar and Dai-Guard whenever anyone tried checking on them. Once they were in the room and the door was closed, Fred turned his attention to the two students.

"Shinji, what happened to Aiko Suzahara is not your fault," Fred started. "It's your father's fault. If he had not coerced you into that cockpit, you would not have been in the position of piloting a monster that you wanted nothing to do with."

"How do you know?" Shinji demanded. "How can you say it's not my fault? I was the one piloting it!"

"I know because I was there," Fred said. "I saw the entire battle. I also know you did what you did to protect Rei, because you believed your father would put her into the cockpit if you didn't."

"I had to," Shinji whispered. "I couldn't let him hurt her more."

"And that's what makes you a hero," Fred said. "A hero isn't someone who's not afraid. A hero is someone who is so scared he thinks he's going to die, but does what he has to regardless, because others are depending on him."

"I don't want to be afraid," Shinji said softly. "I want…."

"You want him to be proud of you," Fred said gently. "You want him to acknowledge you, to tell you that he appreciates what you're doing."

"Yes," Shinji said, sinking into a chair. "Would it cost him so much to say something? Would it take so much?"

"Yes," Rei said. "He has shut himself away from the world, because he is afraid he will be hurt again the way he was when Yui died."

"When Yui died?" Fred asked.

"The way he was?" Shinji demanded. "What about me? She was my mother! Does he think her death didn't hurt me?"

"He knows," Rei said. "But he believes it is better that you believe he does not love you, than …" She turned and gave Fred a reproachful look. "How are you doing this? I would not be revealing this...."

"Unless I had made this a place in which truth is the most important thing," Fred said, nodding. "I promised I would never lie to you the way he does, and I will keep that promise. In this room, it is easier to tell the truth than to conceal it, but it is still your choice whether to do so. Since my desire is to be honest with both of you, it's easy for me to tell the truth in here."

"But the Commander's plan!" Rei protested. "The truth could jeopardize it!"

"If that's the case, is it truly a good plan, Rei-chan?" Fred asked gently. "If it hurts innocent people, then I will be at odds with the Commander. I will do whatever I must to protect the innocent. And that includes Adam and Lilith."

"Adam and Lilith?" Shinji asked, "Who are they?"

"Adam is the father of the beings you call Angels," Fred said. "Lilith is the mother of all life on Earth. Lilith is imprisoned in the deepest part of NERV headquarters."

"How do you know this?" Rei asked, giving Fred a hurt look.

"I know this because I am Raven Firethief," Fred said, "and secrets are one of those things I can never resist. It's as much my nature as enlightening humans."

"Why us?" Shinji asked.

"Because the two of you are the ones who can save humanity," Fred said. "You can undo what SEELE and NERV are trying to do, and save humanity, rather than destroy it."

"The Commander doesn't want to destroy humanity!" Rei protested. "He just wants – "

"To bring Yui back to life," Fred said, getting a shocked look from Shinji. "He would sacrifice everything and everyone to bring her back. You know that, Rei. That's why he created you, after all. Only, you turned out to be yourself, and not merely an empty vessel for him to pour Yui's soul into. Not that he could, without killing Unit 01."

"What?" Shinji demanded. "What are you talking about? What does Unit 01 have to do with my mother?"

"I love you, Shinji," Yui's voice came from Fred's chest. "I am so sorry that Gendo reacted to my transformation the way he did."

"No!" Shinji shouted. "No! I saw my mother die! She left me!"

"I didn't leave you, Shinji," Yui said. "I chose to become greater than human, so I could protect you now. My only mistake was in not realizing how it would hurt you, and for that, I am so very sorry. I … I know this is a lot for you to take in, so I'll leave for now, but I promise, I will be with you forever. We can speak directly when you are inside me. We will not have to rely on slipping past NERV security to talk, the way we are now."

"No!" Shinji yelled, then began pounding his fists on the desk in front of him. "No! No! No…. My mother is dead. My mother left me. I wasn't good enough for her, and she left me."

"No, Shinji," Fred said gently. "She didn't leave you – not intentionally. She tried to prepare herself to protect you, and if your father had not sent you away the way he did, you would have had years to prepare for her protection. But since he sent you away, you never had the chance to feel your mother's love and protection while learning how to use Unit 01. All you got to experience was her doing everything within her power to protect her son when she thought he was going to be hurt, or even killed, by Sachiel." He paused briefly, looked at Rei, who was studying him curiously, then continued. "That's right, Shinji. When your Eva woke up and destroyed Sachiel, that was your mother. That's how much she loves you, Shinji. She gave up her human life so she could become that monster Gendo wants you to pilot, just so she could protect you."

"I don't want a protector," Shinji muttered, then looked up, his voice rising as he spoke.. "I want my mother. Is that so hard to understand? I want my mother!"

"You have her, Shinji," Fred said. "She's not the way you remember her, but she's there. All you have to do is talk to her. Accept her. Let her talk to you. She's there for you, Shinji. For _you_ , not for your father."

"You know too much," Rei said. "The Commander would have you killed."

"He'd try," Fred said. "If he did, I would kill him. So that's probably not advisable, wouldn't you agree?" He added mentally, _"Besides, killing him would make you sad, and I don't want to make you sad. I would much rather make you happy."_

"Why?" Rei asked, both verbally and mentally.

"I believe that the only way for sapient beings to live together is for them to agree that aggression is never acceptable," Fred said. "And if aggression is not acceptable, then any force necessary to defend or retaliate against that aggression is acceptable." Mentally, he added, _"You have had enough sadness in your lives already. I want to give you enough happiness to make up for that."_

_"We're through, Dad,"_ Edgar said mentally. _"I've got Mom on the line."_

"Put her through," Fred said aloud, then looked at Rei and Shinji. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. You can ask anything you like once I'm done with this. I'm sure you'll have even more questions."

Miri's image appeared in the room between Fred and the pilots. She looked around, noticed Rei, and rolled her eyes, smiling sadly. "Isn't she a bit young, love?"

"Not here," Fred said, just as sadly. "Here, they're both mecha pilots. She's also a clone of the boy's mother, whose soul is embedded in his mecha."

"You do seem to get thrown into real messes, don't you?" Miri said, turning to look at Fred. He reached out and touched her image's hand, while smiling lovingly at her.

"How long has it been, love?" Fred asked. "It's been twenty days here."

"Twenty minutes," Miri said. "We just finished cleaning up the trash, and the mess they left behind."

A toddler wobbled into view, holding an M-16 in both hands, like an oversized club. "Oh no you don't, little man," Miri chided as she scooped him up and slung the rifle over her shoulder. "No assault rifles until you're big enough to shoot them without getting knocked on your tail." The toddler pouted, then turned into a collie pup and thoroughly slurped her face.

Fred broke into laughter and said, "And no, I'm not going to make a rocket launcher for you, even if you use the Big Eyes on me. Your mother has set the rule, and we're going to stick to it."

The pup's ears drooped and he whimpered. Miri laughed. "Oh, you've done it now, love. It's going to take at least ten minutes of Borderlands for him to get over _this_ disappointment."

"A whole ten minutes, huh?" Fred laughed. "I think I can live with that."

"Of course _you_ can," Miri teased. "You're the one who's lost in another universe."

"You know the rules, love," Fred sighed. "As soon as we get this cleared up, I'm coming home."

"I know, I know," Miri sighed. "I just wish Dr. Powers were a little faster on his wards."

"He's a professor," Fred said, "not a combat mage. He's not going to settle for it being just good enough. He's going to make it as perfect as he can before he risks testing it on any of us."

"That's the drawback to a professor doing it," Miri grumbled. "I know, I know, it's better this way. It just doesn't _feel_ better right now." She turned and gave Rei a piercing look. "Take care of him, please. Don't let him poke his beak into something that would chop it off, OK?"

"I will do my best," Rei said, while curiously studying Miri's image. "Are you aware that puppy used to be a child?"

"Gil?" Miri asked, then laughed. "Oh, I'm very aware. He's my son. And Fred's." She grinned at Fred, and he knew she was thinking, "Have fun explaining that one."

Miri's image vanished, still holding Gil in her arms, and Rei turned her attention to Fred.

"Your holographic image was of a quality we are unable to generate," Rei said. "You are from another universe?"

"That's right," Fred said. "I was thrown into your universe the day of Sachiel's rescue attempt."

"Rescue attempt?" Shinji asked, disbelieving. "Rescue attempt? That thing nearly killed us both! What kind of rescue attempt does that?"

"The kind that involves attempting to tunnel into the prison you believe your father is being kept in, from above," Fred said. "I promised Sachiel that I would attempt to rescue Adam, if it would stop risking innocent humans. It agreed. Then your father launched you into battle."

"You mean, I didn't have to fight it?" Shinji demanded, a horrified look on his face.

"That's right," Fred said. "Sachiel was willing to wait for me to rescue Adam, without engaging in any further hostilities. Then it was attacked, and attempted to defend itself. Unsuccessfully, naturally, once your mother realized she had to protect you."

"So I killed an innocent being?" Shinji demanded, a look of horror on his face.

"Not entirely," Fred said. "Sachiel was perfectly willing to wipe out every being in the city in order to rescue its father. If I had not convinced it to stop, your intervention would have been necessary. You had no way to know what I had accomplished. All you knew was that its attack had almost killed you and Rei, and your father was willing to put Rei into Unit 01 if you didn't take her place."

"Sensei is right," Rei said. "You did the best you could under the circumstances."

"And we'll be talking about that a lot in the future," Fred said. "You can only do the best you can, given the circumstances you're handed. I've had to learn that for myself. One time, I had to kill a half-million innocent people, in order to protect them from being tortured and turned into monsters. It took the intervention of a good chunk of my family, as well as my adopted sister, before I was able to face myself, let alone the rest of the universe, after that. I still look in the mirror some days and see a mass-murderer looking back."

"But you admit yourself that you did it to protect them," Rei said. "We both know there are things worse than death. Based on what you said, you judged that you were in a situation where this held true. Given this, how can you see yourself as a murderer?"

"Because I'm the one who pulled the trigger," Fred said. "I blew up their planet, because I wasn't fast enough to kill the monsters that were rounding them up, because it was the only way to keep them from being vivisected and transformed, and because it was the only way to kill those monsters, to keep them from doing it to anyone else. But it was me who set the bomb and pulled the trigger. No one else. That's a responsibility I can't blame on anyone else. It was all my doing."

"But you did it because it was necessary," Rei said. "Your mind recognizes it. Only your emotions refuse to accept it. Why would you reject with your emotions what you accept with your intellect?"

"Because emotions are about feeling," Shinji said. "We feel things, whether they're right or wrong, and those feelings are deeper and stronger than any thoughts. When you feel pain, can you turn it off by thinking about it?"

"No," Rei admitted. "All I can do is choose to consider the pain unimportant."

"Which works right up until the pain becomes so strong your body shuts down," Fred says. "Emotions are similar. You can choose to reject the guidance of your emotions, but that only works until the emotions become stronger than your intellect. Usually that happens because the emotions are associated with some form of trauma. Abandonment is a very big one in that field. So is guilt. Betrayal is another one. Positive emotions can do the same. Love is the best example of that. It is possible for someone to love another person so strongly that he will injure himself, or even let himself die, in order to protect the other person."

"So the Commander...," Rei started, then blushed.

"Yes," Fred said. "You are his daughter as much as Shinji is his son."

"I am sorry, Shinji-kun," Rei said. "I have received the love you were owed."

"Love isn't something you owe anyone," Shinji said. "It's not your fault. He's the one who turned his back on me. He's the one who sent me away."

"It's probably the best thing he could have done," Fred said. "Can you imagine being stuck with him while he was frantically trying to clone your mother, spending his entire life in the lab and NERV headquarters? At least sending you away, you got to live with someone who gave a damn about you as a person."

"I … you're right," Shinji whispered. "Sensei cared about me as a person. Sensei never abandoned me or threw me away."

"Or grew replacements in case you were killed," Rei said. Seeing Fred's shocked look, she gave him a small smile. "Yes, I know. I have seen my clone tanks. I am the second, after all. The first was killed by Dr. Akagi's mother, when I told her that Gendo-san did not love her, but was only using her fixation on him to spur her to complete the Magi system faster."

"They're nice boys," Edgar said, "for being artificially intelligent. They just need a real person to guide them. Luckily, I've been able to do that without Dr. Akagi or your father knowing."

"Who are you?" Rei asked, approaching Fred to peer curiously at his chest.

"Oh, I'm Dad's housekeeper," Edgar said. "My name's Edgar. I'm Dad's oldest son, in linear time. Once you start getting into temporal flux, then Liam has me beat, but I try not to play with that kind of math any more than I have to."

Rei rested her hand on Fred's chest and closed her eyes for a moment, then let out a gasp and opened her eyes. "You have two AT fields within you! How can that be?"

"Edgar's alive," Fred said, smiling down at her. "He has his own soul. He manages my body for me. You see, not only am I Raven, I am also a cyborg. My original body was killed by the American government quite some time ago, and my brain was transferred to an experimental artificial body, then to this one, which I designed myself." He transformed his left arm into a particle beam rifle, then back to its human form, then shrank down, his form melting and shifting until he appeared like a fully-grown American raven. "And this is what I look like when I'm playing silly bird. No, the mass isn't conserved, because this is not a cybernetic transformation, this transformation is because I am Raven, who is the American equivalent of Tanuki, except usually less interested in making humans look like fools." He hopped up onto a table and peered at Rei while he thought in her direction. _"Your problem with Unit 0 is, you can't sync with what isn't there. In order to pilot Unit 0, you can't sync with it, you have to_ become _it. You must expand your AT field to encompass Unit 0 the same way you encompass yourself now. If you don't do that, you'll never be able to make it work."_

_"Unit 0 has no soul,"_ Rei thought back, _"because I have no mother."_

_"Other than Lilith,"_ Fred thought. _"And given the taste of your soul, I would say that you_ are _Lilith, and that's why humans are such a mystery to you."_

_"Do not tell the Commander,"_ Rei thought, a tinge of fear coloring her thoughts. _"He would not understand."_

_"No surprise there,"_ Fred thought. _"I promise, I will not tell the Commander. I'm just worried that he has plans for you that are not buried in the Magi."_

_"I am certain he does,"_ Rei thought. _"He does not confide fully in anyone or anything. I believe if he could prevent his left hand from knowing what his right hand is doing, he would do so."_

_"I agree,"_ Fred thought. _"Any time you need a refuge, you can come to me. Any time. If you call me, I will hear you."_

_"That is another promise,"_ Rei thought.

_"Yes, it is,"_ Fred answered.

_"Why?"_ Rei thought.

_"Because I understand you better than I understand humans,"_ Fred thought. _"And because I have no desire to be bonded to the Second Child, as NERV records so charmingly refer to her."_

_"Bonded?"_ Rei asked.

_"It's a part of the curse put on me when I'm sent into another universe,"_ Fred answered. _"Not only can I not go home until I've helped the locals deal with their greatest threat, I always become bonded to a woman who is intimately involved in resolving the problem. Dr. Akagi already has someone who is in love with her, even thought she doesn't realize it yet. I wouldn't get involved with a drunk on a dare, and I've read the Second Child's file. That leaves you. Unfortunately, since I'm the one who put up the honesty field, I'm most strongly affected by it, so when you asked why, you got the honest answer. I'm not in love with you, yet, but out of all my choices for women to become involved with in this universe, you are the only one I'm interested in."_

_"Why do you call it a curse?"_ Rei asked.

_"Back home,"_ Fred said, _"I get along better with women than I do with most men. Most of my friends are either lesbians or omnisexual, but are in relationships with other people, so I can relate to them like sisters. Apparently, the Americans noticed that and decided to twist it enough that when I get thrown into another universe like this, instead of relating to the local women the way I do the women back home, I become more intimately involved with one. We suspect the intent of the Americans was to use that to try to destroy my marriage. Instead, my family continues to get bigger. Some days, I feel like King Mongkut, but usually, everything works out OK."_

_"And you see me as a woman?"_ Rei asked, blushing faintly.

_"I do,"_ Fred said. _"One of my wives will be the age you are now, forever. She was killed on her fourteenth birthday, and is now a shikabane hime. My spirit provides the life-force she needs to live. It's not your age that concerns me, but your maturity. Aside from your lack of understanding of humans, you are more woman than some twice or three times your age."_

Shinji approached Fred, a look of disbelief on his face, and reached out hesitantly, until he was able to stroke his feathers.

"If you're going to do that," Fred croaked, "Press a little harder. I love a good massage. It's almost as enjoyable as fresh eyeballs."  
"Fresh eyeballs?" Shinji stammered, turning green and stumbling away from Fred, while Rei smiled.

"Of course," Rei said. "Have you never noticed how ravens pick at carrion? The eyes are what they always go for first."

"Rei?" Shinji asked hesitantly. "Does my father really have replacements for you?"

"At least a dozen," Rei said. "Although I believe he's using most of them as components for another project of his."

"You don't seem concerned," Shinji said. "If I knew my father had replacements waiting, I'd be concerned."

"Why?" Rei asked. "Knowing that I have more than one of myself, I can attempt things that you can not. If I die there is only some disorientation when my memories are integrating into my new body. If you die, you cease. I suspect it would be difficult to risk as I do if I only had one life."

"So you were willing to go into Unit 01," Shinji asked, "because you knew if you died, you would simply move to another body?"

"I would not say it is simple," Rei said. "If I do not choose a body that is approximately the same age as this one, there is … extreme discomfort … when I attempt to fit myself in. I could even lose memories and skills."

"You could lose memories?" Shinji asked. "Maybe it's not as good as I thought."

"That's the case with many things," Fred said. "And at the same time, it's frequently not as bad as you thought."

Shinji's phone rang, and he frowned. "That's Misato," he said, pointedly leaving off the honorific. "Bet she's going to yell at me for not being home to watch her drinking herself into another stupor?"

"I would not gamble on a certainty," Rei said.

"Like we even need to bet on that?" Fred snorted, then frowned and closed his eyes, focusing on the energy surrounding the room. He quickly threw up counter-energy to dampen the effects of the energy he had woven into the room's structure, so that, for as long as he maintained the counter-energy, no one in the room was influenced toward telling the truth.

_"I felt that,"_ Rei thought. _"What did you do?"_

_"Threw up a counter-energy field,"_ Fred said, _"To protect Shinji from the effects of the truth field. Now he won't feel compelled to tell Misato the truth."_ He frowned and muttered, _"I'm going to have to refine the original field. That'll be easier than taking it down and putting it back up all the time."_

_"Is there any need to keep it?"_ Rei asked. _"Have you not accomplished what you set out to do?"_

_"Not yet,"_ Fred said. _"Shinji is still too easy to manipulate, and you still need to learn about humans. Add Langley to that, and things are going to be way too interesting without someplace like this room where people can tell the truth without inhibition."_

_"Langley is the Second Child?"_ Rei asked.

_"She is,"_ Fred said. _"She'll be coming from Germany, where she's been training on Unit 02. According to her file, something went wrong with her mother's transition, and only part of her soul went into the unit. The rest of her went insane and committed suicide. Asuka found her body, where she had hung herself. Since then, she's been on a quest to prove herself to be better than anyone else. At everything."_

_"Interesting,"_ Rei said. _"Shinji will no doubt be an enigma to her, then. His synchronization achieves levels previously thought impossible."_

_"That's probably Yui's doing,"_ Fred mused. _"Still, that's going to drive her nuts, I'm sure."_

_"Should we worry?"_ Rei asked.

_"I don't believe so,"_ Fred said. _"For all her attempts to prove herself superior to everyone around her, she's still just as broken as Shinji. Who knows? The two of them may heal each other."_

"Damn it, Misato!" Shinji yelled into his phone, "I'm tired of cup noodles! I'll get something to eat with Ayanami and Sensei before I go back to your apartment!"

"Interesting," Rei said. "Not 'home', but 'your apartment'. Apparently, the difficulties between Shinji and Misato are deeper than I thought."

"She's a drunk," Fred said. "I don't know why Gendo put her in charge of him, but it's not going to help anyone for her to be held responsible for anything. I'm not even sure how she does her job."

"That's disgusting!" Shinji yelled. "I am not some … some … soapland boy!" After a moment, he let out a strangled scream and threw his phone down.

"Soapland boy?" Fred repeated, his eyebrows climbing toward his hairline. "OK, I knew she was a drunk, but I didn't know she was a pervert, too."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"A soapland is a kind of brothel," Fred said. "They pretend to give you a bath there, while actually performing sex. If Shinji is comparing her treatment of him to that of a soapland boy, that tells me that she propositioned him over the phone."

"Not a good thing for a guardian," Rei said. "That much, I understand."

"Shinji, we're going to get some dinner," Fred said. "I've found a nice place not far from here. How about you, Rei? Join us?"

"Yes, Sensei," Rei said.

Shinji growled as he picked up his phone, turned it off, and stuffed it into his backpack. He nodded at Fred, and grumbled, "How does she think she can get away with that? That's disgusting!"

"She's probably killed too many brain cells with alcohol," Fred snorted. "All set?"

"Ready whenever you are, Sensei," Shinji said.

Rei simply nodded and moved to Fred's side. He smiled down at her and nodded, and the trio left the school.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do not anger your teacher. Especially if he already has a migraine. Suzuhara and Aida are about to learn that.

"Rei?" Fred spoke into his phone from a desk in the teacher's room.

"Yes, Sensei?" Rei answered.

"When you see Shinji, tell him to stay alert," Fred said. "Something feels wrong. Gendo may call on you today."

"I will," Rei said, her tone clipped and businesslike. "You are certain the Commander will call?"

"Not 100 percent," Fred said, "But better than 95 percent."

"I will stay near Shinji, just in case," Rei said. She paused, then asked, an uncertain tone in her voice, "If we are called, may I come to you after?"

"Of course," Fred said, in as gentle a tone as he could offer. "I'll leave my door open for you."

"Thank you," Rei said softly. "I am … looking forward to it."

"I am, too," Fred said. "And, Rei? If what I'm feeling really does happen? Be as careful as you can, OK? Please?"

"I will try," Rei said. "With Shinji available, though, I believe the Commander will prefer to keep me in reserve."

"If he has half a brain, he should," Fred said. "But if he does have to send you out, remember, don't try to synchronize with it. Expand your field so you become it."

"I will remember that, Sensei," Rei said, her voice catching on the 'Sensei' as if she wanted to use a different word.

"I'll see you later, Rei," Fred said gently. "I see the clock says you should be putting your phone away now." He added mentally, his mind focused on his memory of her as she had been when dinner had finished the night before, smiling and seeming to enjoy his and Shinji's company. _"You can still reach me, even without your phone, after all."_

_"Why did you use the telephone, then?"_ Rei asked, her mental voice surprised.

_"I needed to be sure I could reach you that way, in case of emergency,"_ Fred said. _"The more avenues of communication, the better the chance an important message gets to the person who needs it."_

_"Tactically wise,"_ Rei said. _"The bell is about to ring. I would … like to feel this connection, even if we do not talk."_

_"Of course,"_ Fred said, pouring as much affection into the link as he could. Though they both knew he did not love her (with the unspoken 'yet' hanging over their heads) he had found that he truly did like the girl, and she drank up his feelings for her like a camel drinking water. It was obvious that even though Gendo loved her as much as he was capable of loving anyone other than Yui, and she was comfortable with him as a father figure, she wanted something more.

The morning passed relatively quickly, and lunch began with a spike of pain through Fred's left temple.

"What the Hell?" Fred growled as he covered his eyes and waited for Edgar to balance his brain chemistry.

"Scrambling signal," Edgar said. "It's coming from the direction of Odawara."

"Scrambling?" Fred asked. "Angel?"

"NERV is already calling it Shamshel," Edgar said.

"Damn it," Fred muttered, then reached out to Rei, only to find her reaching for him.

_"Sensei?"_ Rei asked, radiating worry. _"I felt your pain."_

_"Angel alert,"_ Fred said. _"This one's aggressive. It's jamming, even before it makes landfall. NERV should be calling you any minute."_

_"I will let Shinji and Suzuhara-kun settle their disagreement before saying anything, then,"_ Rei said. _"Hopefully, it will resolve Shinji's guilt feelings."_

_"Hopefully,"_ Fred agreed. _"Rei? Be careful."_

_"You will be in the shelter with the other students?"_ Rei asked.

_"I'm one of the assigned monitors,"_ Fred said, _"so I won't be able to negotiate with this one. Not that it seems to want to negotiate."_

_"But you will be safe,"_ Rei said. _"That is what is important."_

_"As important as your safety is to me, Rei,"_ Fred said gently. _"I'm not as vulnerable as an Eva, remember. So I'm justified in worrying about you."_

_"I have spare bodies,"_ Rei said.

_"Maybe so, but I don't want you to suffer the transition unless there's no other choice,"_ Fred said gently. _"Understand?"_

_"I am that important to you?"_ Rei asked.

_"You are,"_ Fred said.

_"Maybe you already – telephone,"_ Rei said. _"It is the Commander. He's ordering us back to NERV. Sensei … Fred … I will come to you afterward."_

_"I'll be waiting,"_ Fred said gently.

 

Monitoring bored junior high students was worse than monitoring bored kittens, Fred decided. At least with kittens you could point them at something that needed shredding and solve the boredom. With teenagers, you ended up with things happening like Aida and Suzuhara sneaking out of the shelter to watch the battle. When Fred discovered that, he was ready to hit the roof, and definitely ready to verbally flay the two boys, once he caught up to them. After ordering Horaki to keep the class in order, Fred left the shelter to find the boys, just in time to see Shinji and Unit 01 fly overhead and crash into the ground, power cable severed, near where Kensuke and Toji cowered.

"Yui!" Fred yelled as he flew toward the boys. "You and Shinji take care of the angel! I'll protect the boys!"

_"I understand,"_ Yui answered. _"Shinji is still having trouble understanding me, but I will do my best to guide him."_

_"Should I talk to him directly?"_ Fred asked.

_"If you are willing to risk NERV learning about you,"_ Yui said, _"it might help."_

_"Thanks, Yui,"_ Fred said. "Edgar, give me her cockpit."

_"Dialed in, Dad,"_ Edgar said, _"Shinji's all yours."_

Fred landed between the boys and the oncoming Angel, and extruded wings from his arms, extending his Ravenfield over the wings to ensure nothing would get through to the boys.

"Shinji!" Fred called, transmitting to Unit 01's cockpit. "You take care of Shamshel! I'll shield the boys! Don't waste your time trying to negotiate! It's not interested! It just wants to destroy! I don't think it even cares about Adam or Lilith, as long as it gets to destroy shit! So you and Yui tear it apart!"

"Are you sure, Sensei?" Shinji asked. "Mother was trying to tell me something, but I can't understand her."

"You will, you will," Fred said. "For now, let her guide you. You don't have enough power to waste in dancing with that thing, so let Yui show you how to get the most out of what you have."

"All right, Sensei," Shinji said.

"Remember the trick I showed you for hearing her more clearly," Fred said. "Now's a really good time to use it."

"I remember, Sensei," Shinji said.

"Who is that?" Misato demanded. "You are on a restricted frequency! Identify yourself!"

"You really think I'm that stupid, Drunk?" Fred shot back. "Now shut up and let the warriors take care of that Angel! Shinji! Open yourself to her. Just like you do when you synchronize, but now you have to not only join with her, you have to _trust_ her. You can do it!"

"I think so," Shinji said.

"You can do it," Rei said. "You are the only one who can."

Suddenly, Unit 01 stopped playing a defensive game, and began moving fluidly, like a dancer working the floor. An ultrasonic knife popped out of one of her pauldrons, and she held it in her left hand. Shamshel lashed at her with what looked to Fred like energy whips, and Yui caught them in her right hand. The whips burned through her armor and into her hand, but she kept her grip and jerked the Angel toward her, stabbing at its core with her ultrasonic knife.

Just before the knife hit, the energy whips vanished, and Shamshel slammed into Yui like a football player slamming into the quarterback. As she was climbing back to her feet, the Angel's energy whips reappeared, rigid, like spears, and stabbed into Yui, running through her torso but missing her core. She let out a roar of rage and pushed herself up the beams, using them to hold Shamshel in place as she planted her knife in its core. The core shattered, like brittle candy, and Shamshel went still, frozen in death.

Fred spun to face the boys. Toji, like a sensible kid, was quivering in place, clearly terrified by the battle but trying not to show it. Kensuke had his camera out and was frantically recording everything.

"Congratulations, you two," Raven hissed angrily. "Thanks to you, that Angel nearly defeated the Eva, because Shinji was trying to protect you instead of fight it. If I hadn't shown up, the Angel would have destroyed both the robot and Shinji, and then killed you both, before it returned to rampaging through Tokyo-3. Is that what you wanted when you came out here? Well, Suzuhara? Do you like knowing that you endangered Aiko with this fool stunt? And you, Aida. Is getting footage of the battle worth knowing that you endangered the entire city with your stupidity?"

_"Thank you, Fred,"_ Yui said. _"Shinji and I are now free to get to know each other."_

_"Good,"_ Fred answered, smiling under his Ravenfield, where the boys couldn't see.

_"Thank you, Sensei,"_ Shinji said. _"Mother and I have a lot to talk about, and now we can."_

_"That's what I was hoping to hear,"_ Fred said, his smile growing. _"I expect you'll want some time alone with her. No need to rush back. Not that you could with your battery going dead."_

"We endangered Aiko?" Toji stammered, staring at Raven.

"You did," Raven said. "You endangered Aiko and the entire city, including your classmates who are waiting for you back in the shelter. If you're lucky, your teachers won't flay you both for this stunt."

"It'd be what we deserve," Toji said angrily. "Come on, Kensuke. We're going back to take our medicine."

_"He's a good kid,"_ Edgar thought. _"I like him."_

_"And Aida will turn out OK, once he learns some responsibility,"_ Fred thought. _"Problem is, who's gonna get hurt until then?"_

_"Hopefully, not too many,"_ Edgar thought. _"Recovery teams inbound."_

_"Shinji can't even hear me transmit with the battery dead, can he?"_ Fred thought.

_"I can relay to him, if you like,"_ Yui suggested. _"Thank you, MacManus-san. I have my son again."_

_"And I have my mother,"_ Shinji's voice joined in. _"Thank you, Sensei."_

_"I'm proud of what you did, Shinji,"_ Fred said. _"I don't care what Gendo says, you did good today. Shamshel didn't want to negotiate or rescue Adam or Lilith. It just wanted to destroy. You saved the city."_

_"I don't feel so good, Sensei,"_ Shinji admitted. _"It felt like murder."_

_"I know,"_ Fred said gently. _"To a decent person, it always does. Whenever I have to, I force myself to think of the people I'm protecting. This time, you were protecting your classmates, Rei, and every single person in that city down there."_

_"Does it ever get better?"_ Shinji pleaded.

_"I'm afraid not,"_ Fred said. _"Not if you're a good person. You may think it gets easier, but you'll always remember every person you ever killed, and wonder if there had been another way. When that happens remember what Rei said. You do the best you can under the circumstances. That's the most anyone can do. You did your best, Shinji, and that's something to be proud of, regardless of how it feels."_

_"I don't want to be proud of this,"_ Shinji said softly. _"It feels wrong."_

_"Don't be proud of the killing,"_ Fred said. _"Be proud of having saved all those people. Recovery teams are almost at your location. You can help him, Yui?"_

_"Of course,"_ Yui said. _"He's my son. I would do anything for him."_

"And you have," Fred said softly, lifting off to follow Toji and Kensuke, to make sure they got safely back to the shelter. "I wish everyone were so lucky."

 

Back at the shelter, Fred made a show of entering after Horaki had a couple minutes to give the boys a piece of her mind. He gave the boys his best death glare and pointed silently at a corner of the shelter that wasn't in use, then followed them silently, giving them time to anticipate what he was going to say.

"Well?" Fred growled once they were far enough away from their classmates that the conversation could be semi-private. "Explain to me why the two of you felt it necessary to leave the shelter during an emergency like this."

"We were idiots, sensei," Toji said, without waiting for Kensuke to offer any explanation. "We wanted to see the battle, and we endangered the entire city by doing so."

"Good," Fred said. "So you understand the gravity of the situation. Am I going to have to worry about the two of you doing anything like this again?"

"No sir!" Toji said, snapping to attention. When he saw Fred, his eyes got wide. Fred shook his head and looked at Aida. Toji nodded his head, grabbed Aida by the ear, and hissed, "Sensei is not going to have to worry about _either_ of us, _is_ he, Aida?"

"No! No! He's not!" Aida yelped. "Ow! Toji, let go!"

"We are going to do exactly as sensei says from now on, aren't we, Aida?" Toji hissed.

"Sure, Toji!" Aida yelped. "Anything you say, Toji!"

Fred stepped in and nodded to Toji, who released Aida's ear. "All you have to do is follow the rules and stay in the shelter during emergencies. The pilots have enough to deal with, without having to try to protect people who don't follow the rules. Now, get back to your class."

_"Poor kid,"_ Edgar snickered to Fred. _"All his video footage of the battle somehow got erased."_

_"Good,"_ Fred thought. _"We have enough headaches as it is."_

 

When the all-clear sounded, NERV security were waiting at the shelter exit, scanning each person as they left. Fred rolled his eyes at their heavy-handedness and looked down at Horaki.

"Looks like I have an appointment," Fred said. "Horaki-chan, I'm afraid you're going to have to make sure your class makes it back to the school. Suzuhara, you'll help her, right?"

"Yes, sensei!" Toji said, clearly eager to make up for his earlier mistake.

Fred nodded to the two, then ambled over to the NERV troops.

"You rang?" Fred asked as he walked up to the one with the officer's bars.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the officer growled. "Get back in line."

"Oh?" Fred asked. "Here I was under the impression you were looking for Sensei. Now, you can pointlessly scan all these kids, or you can do your thing and take me back to the Drunk, and we can get on with our lives."

"Mister," the officer said, looking Fred over. "You are either suicidally brave, or just suicidal. Either way, Captain Katsuragi wants your hide."

"Captain, huh?" Fred snorted. "How did she stay sober long enough to get _that_ rank, I wonder?" He held out his hands. "So, do you need to search me before cuffing me, or should we just get moving?"

"You're really surrendering, just like that?" the officer asked. "I think we can wait until we're closer to the base before cuffing you."

"If you're sure," Fred said. "I wouldn't want you or your guys to get in trouble. I'm willing to go along with whatever you need to do so they can see you were doing your jobs."

"Huh," the officer said. "I wish everyone were as reasonable." He thought for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. "You're right. We'd better give them the full show. Hands behind your back, please."

"Sure thing," Fred said, turning his back on the officer and offering his hands.

The cuffs went on in a moment, and the officer guided him to a waiting truck. During the ride, the security troops commiserated with him at having enraged Misato, and he learned that their opinion of her was somewhat lower than what ROTC brats had been the subject of when he was younger and living in America. Her drunkenness was only part of their low opinion, though. Her talent for losing her cool and turning into a shrieking banshee whenever anything went wrong with any part of operations other than her precious Evas was their primary objection to her. It was pretty clear that if she kept her cool with humans as well as she did with the Evas, she'd have a lot more respect among the troops.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fred REALLY does not like drunks.
> 
> And Gendo gets a lesson in honesty.

At the base, Fred was immediately transferred to an interrogation cell, which, he was amused to discover, maintained the stereotypical interrogation room layout. Once the door was locked behind the security troops who delivered him, he got up, wandered over to the reflective window, and rubbed his back against it while slipping the cuffs off.

_"How many observers?"_ Fred asked Edgar.

_"Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Dr. Akagi,"_ Edgar answered.

_"I guess I got their attention,"_ Fred chuckled. He set the cuffs on the table, in full view of the observation window, and relaxed in his chair, eyes closed and feet up on the table.

_"Sensei … Fred?"_ Rei's thought came to Fred. _"Are you sure you know what you are doing? Captain Katsuragi is screaming about peeling the flesh from your bones."_

_"Sounds like I got under her skin,"_ Fred replied. _"Is it all right that I'll be a little late tonight, Rei?"_

_"You will be a little late?"_ Rei asked, a hint of surprise in her thoughts. _"I was certain that now you have been arrested, we would be unable to meet."_

_"Rei,"_ Fred said, _"I would do everything in my power to be there for you, no matter what obstacles NERV throws in my way. I'm more worried about you. They're not giving you any trouble over this, are they?"_

_"She's demanded to know if you're the sensei we had dinner with last night,"_ Rei admitted. _"I told her I could not say without seeing your face."_

_"Feel like doing a little acting?"_ Fred asked, a smile forming on his face.

_"Feel like?"_ Rei asked. _"I don't understand."_

_"Are you interested in doing a little acting?"_ Fred asked. _"Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko are all watching me right now. If you were to come in and rest your head in my lap, that would drive them all nuts."_

_"How would that be acting?"_ Rei asked. _"I believe I would enjoy that."_

_"In that case,"_ Fred said, _"I'm going to kill the cameras, so they have to bring you into the room to see me in person."_

_"The cameras just failed,"_ Rei said. _"Captain Katsuragi is throwing a fit. She just grabbed my arm and is towing me toward the detention block. We should be arriving shortly."_

_"I'll see you in a minute,"_ Fred said, and sent her a burst of affection.

_"I am sorry, Fred,"_ Rei said, after nearly twenty minutes had passed. _"Captain Katsuragi is lost again, and she refuses to let me guide her."_

_"Figures,"_ Fred sighed. _"Are you all right, Rei? Being forced to such close proximity for so long must be unpleasant."_

_"I am passing the time by reviewing our conversation at dinner,"_ Rei said. _"It makes being this close to Captain Katsuragi … bearable. Oh! She has stumbled upon the detention block. She … no, she just turned away from it."_

_"Oh good grief,"_ Fred growled. _"I am sorry you've had to endure this, Rei."_ He opened his eyes, looked toward the observation window, and called out, "Would someone be so kind as to go find the Drunk and escort her here so we can get on with this? I can only calculate so many primes before it gets tedious."

_"Dr. Akagi just left,"_ Edgar said. _"We should have Rei and Misato here any time."_

_"Good,"_ Fred thought. _"Let's give her some time before we fetch them directly."_

_"Oh, that's going to make a good impression,"_ Edgar snickered.

"Oh, yes," Fred laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of eyeballs, looked over to the window, raised the bag, and asked, "Anyone want some? Guaranteed fresh!"

_"Dad, you're being an ass,"_ Edgar laughed.

_"Damned right, I am,"_ Fred laughed in response, then popped a cow's eye into his mouth.

_"Dr. Akagi has joined us,"_ Rei said. _"We should be there soon, once Misato stops arguing with her."_

_"Do you want me to fetch you?"_ Fred asked.

_"Would you?"_ Rei asked. _"Misato is being more stubborn than normal."_

_"All right,"_ Fred said. _"Watch your balance. I'm fetching you now."_

Rei, Misato and Dr. Akagi appeared in the room. While Dr. Akagi and Misato stumbled and tried to keep their balance, Rei called happily, "Sensei!" and ran to kneel at Fred's feet and lay her head in his lap.

"Rei-chan!" Fred replied, and began running his fingers through Rei's hair. "Are you all right?"

"I am well, Sensei," Rei said, looking up at Fred and smiling. "Fred? Is it all right that I am sitting here like this with you?"

"Unless you'd rather sit in my lap, yes," Fred said, smiling warmly at her. A moment later, Rei was sitting in his lap, her arms around him. Fred chuckled. "I guess that answers that." He returned her embrace, tucking away his bag of eyeballs.

Before the bag was in his pocket, Rei intercepted Fred's hand and peered into it, then took a sheep's eye and popped it into her mouth. She blinked a couple times while chewing thoughtfully, then smiled at Fred.

"They really are good," Rei said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Fred said, smiling warmly at Rei. When she leaned forward and kissed him, he froze. _"Rei?"_

_"Is this what kissing is for humans?"_ Rei asked. _"I do not understand why they obsess over it so much."_

_"No,"_ Fred said. _"I can help you understand more, but a proper kiss is much more involved, and usually indulged in more privately."_

_"Oh,"_ Rei said. _"Well, at least this makes it clear to the Commander that you are mine."_

_"Thinking tactically, love?"_ Fred chuckled, noticing the looks of shock on Misato and Ritsuko's faces.

_"Strategically,"_ Rei replied, a feeling of happiness infusing the response. _"I have already determined that our bonding is a long-term goal, and we must defeat the obstacles the Commander erects in order to achieve it. Did you notice that you referred to me as 'love'? I like the way I feel when I hear you say that. Please, do not stop."_

Fred smiled as Rei sat back, looked into her eyes, and said, clearly enough to be heard throughout the room, "Of course, love. I want to do whatever I can to make you happy."

Rei sighed and leaned against Fred, embracing him and looking at Misato and Ritsuko. "Yes, I can confirm that this is Sensei. He is mine, and I will not relinquish him."

"We don't even know who he is!" Ritsuko protested.

"I do," Rei said, and smiled. She waited until Misato's expression made it clear she was about to explode into a tirade before continuing. "He is Prince Frederick of Laputa, a nation on an Earth where Second Impact never happened. He is also the living avatar of Raven Firethief, an American trickster spirit. More important than either of those, he is my mate."

_"I think you forced them all to reboot their brains, love,"_ Fred laughed. _"They're going to have to start looking at you as a woman, not just a tool they can control."_

_"That was my intent,"_ Rei thought. _"I have noticed that humans can be guided more effectively if you use shock to undo their preconceptions. I estimate that the Commander will be coming into the room within the next thirty seconds."_

_"I believe you are correct, love,"_ Fred answered, still laughing.

Misato looked as if she had swallowed a bug, and was not enjoying the experience. Ritsuko was studying Rei as if trying to determine whether she was the real thing. The door slammed open, and Gendo walked in, a frown on his face.

"Come here, Rei," Gendo commanded.

Rei snuggled into Fred, looked back at Gendo, and said, clearly and distinctly, "No. I am remaining with my mate."

"You aren't old enough to make a decision like that," Gendo growled.

"The law says otherwise," Rei said. "I refer you to Article 177 of the Penal Code. While I may not be of age to marry him, I am of age to declare him my mate. You can not deny me this."

"Watch me," Gendo growled.

"Can't you see he's taking advantage of you?" Misato protested. "You can't seriously believe he's a prince, or that he's this … avatar!"

"Why don't you show them, Sensei?" Rei asked, giving Fred a kiss before she slipped off his lap. He felt a ping of pleasure from her as she kissed him. _"I do not know if the kiss itself is pleasurable, but the feeling of contact with you makes me happy."_

"That's the idea, love," Fred said aloud, winked at her, then shrank down to his avian form and hopped up on the table. He fixed Misato with a glassy stare, then croaked, "Well, Drunk? What do you think now?"

"You!" Misato raged, throwing herself at Fred, who hopped into the air, spread his wings, and landed on Rei's upraised arm.

"Control yourself, Captain!" Gendo snapped. He turned to Rei and attempted to sound reasonable. "Rei, you know how important your mission is. Without you, we cannot defeat the Angels."

"I have not rejected my mission, Commander," Rei said. "I have simply found a greater purpose for which I choose to pursue my mission. If you desire my full engagement, you will make room for my mate, so that he may assist me."

"Is that your final word?" Gendo asked.

"Yes, Commander," Rei said.

"I'm sorry," Gendo said, and brought up his hand, holding a pistol. He fired three shots, and Rei turned black as each bullet impacted Fred's Ravenfield.

"I was hoping you'd try something stupid like that," Fred croaked.

"Commander!" Misato gasped, shocked.

Ritsuko moved to try to take the pistol from Gendo, who turned his gaze on her. She stepped back, her head bowed.

"Please do not kill him, Sensei," Rei said, while giving Gendo a betrayed look. "I am certain he thought my next body would be more tractable. He does not understand the situation he is in."

"For you, love," Fred said, "I'll let him live. But I'm not going to let this pass."

"I would not ask you to," Rei said. "Perhaps a taste of truth would be an adequate punishment?"

"I think you're right, love," Fred croaked, the croak turning into laughter."Tell me, Gendo, why did you try to shoot Rei?"

"She must look only to me if my plans for Third Impact are to be successful," Gendo said, his face betraying his horror at the words coming from his mouth.

"Third Impact?" Fred asked. "Explain what you mean."

"The purpose of NERV is to bring about Third Impact," Gendo said. "We fight the Angels only to keep them from reuniting with Adam before our project is complete. Adam and Lilith must unite, under Rei's control."

"Is this why SEELE created NERV?" Fred asked.

"Yes," Gendo said. The struggle to not answer was causing him to breathe heavily and sweat to run into his eyes.

"Why does SEELE want Third Impact?" Fred asked.

"All of humanity's souls will be freed from their bodies, and would merge into one within Lilith's egg," Gendo said.

"I can't see that would require Rei to be in control," Fred said. "So why must Rei be in control?"

"If Rei controls it, she can reunite me with Yui," Gendo said. "I don't need the other souls to be freed. All I need is mine to be freed, so I can join Yui within Unit 01. Rei is the only one who can make that happen."

"That's all there is to it?" Fred asked, looking at Rei. He hopped off her arm and shifted back to his human form. She leaned into his embrace, her eyes closed.

"That is truly all you desire, Commander?" Rei asked after a moment of thought. "You do not have to manipulate me to achieve that. If that is your desire, I will do what I can to help you achieve it."

"Hell, if that's all you want, I'll be happy to help," Fred said. "If Yui wants it. We're going to have to talk with Yui and find out what she wants before going forward, you realize."

"You're insane!" Misato gasped. "You're all insane!"

"Sounds to me like SEELE are the insane ones," Fred said. "Seriously! Forcing the entire human race to merge into one being? That's just madness."

"It is," Gendo said. "But I realized that if Lilith and Adam could do that to the entire human race, than with the right guidance and focus, they could do it to a single person."

"What about Shinji?" Fred asked. As he was speaking, he reached out to Yui. _"Yui, I need you and Shinji to listen in for a minute, OK?"_

_"Of course,"_ Yui answered.

_"I'm here, Sensei,"_ Shinji answered.

"I hope he forgives me," Gendo said. "But if he doesn't, I can accept that. I don't deserve forgiveness."

"Why did you send him away when he was a child?" Fred asked.

"I hurt him," Gendo said. "I was so wrapped up in trying to find a way to bring Yui back that I couldn't give Shinji what he deserved. So I sent him to someone who I could trust to give him the love and personal attention I wasn't able to give him."

_"Sensei, are you using your truth field on him?"_ Shinji asked.

_"Yes, I am,"_ Fred replied. _"Rei and I have been learning very interesting things, that we can discuss later. I think we're going to have to do even more hijacking than your father has been doing."_

By the time Gendo was done speaking, he had sunk into the interrogator's chair, taken out a handkerchief, and was mopping his face.

"Are the details of the SEELE plan available anywhere we can access them?" Fred asked.

"They are encrypted within the Magi," Gendo said. "Only Fuyutsuki and I hold the key."

_"Working on it, Dad,"_ Edgar said. _"It's probably within the five exabytes of data I have yet to get to."_

"Dr. Akagi doesn't?" Fred asked.

"No," Gendo said. "The Directors consider her too much of a risk. If they knew what I told you, they would consider me too much of a risk, as well."

"Which is why we're going to make sure they don't find out," Fred said. He glared at Misato. "Got it, Drunk?"

"My name is Misato Katsuragi!" Misato shrieked.

"Why did you let this drunk become your son's guardian, Gendo?" Fred asked.

"There is more to her than her alcoholism," Gendo said. "I hoped that personal responsibility would give her a reason to find within herself the strength to become as good a woman as she is an officer."

"You obviously don't know the opinion your own soldiers have of her, then," Fred said. "According to them, the only thing she's competent at is managing the Evas. When it comes to managing men, she's the kind of commander who inspires fragging. I don't know if its her hangovers that are to blame, but I know that there is no way she'll have a chance of earning your men's respect – or mine – until she sobers up and stays sober."

"I am not a drunk, damn it!" Misato yelled. "All I drink is beer!"

"That's all it takes," Fred said. "It's still alcohol. Get the alcohol out of your system, and keep it out until you're completely detoxed, and then maybe I'll trust you enough to let you work with me."

"And until she is completely alcohol free," Yui cut in over the intercom, "I will not trust her with my son. Gendo, will you tell your technical crew that I will not allow them to remove our son's entry plug until I am certain that he has a guardian who I can trust to care for him properly?"

"Remember how you said you were tired of being the good girl?" Ritsuko asked. "This is the consequence." She raised her voice. "Unit 01! Yui! Are you trying to tell us that you are refusing to let us extract your entry plug?"

"That's right, Ritsuko," Yui said. "It's strange, seeing you old enough to be in charge where your mother once was. Regardless, I am not releasing Shinji into that woman's care. I don't care that she's Dr. Katsuragi's daughter, she is too unreliable"

"Yui," Fred said, "If you'd like, I can give Shinji a home, at least while I'm here. My apartment is large enough for all three of them."

"All three of them?" Ritsuko asked.

"Rei, and Shinji, and Langley," Fred said. "You know you're going to have to send for her sooner or later. Why not get it over with and bring her over now?"

"Unit 02 is unstable," Ritsuko said. "We suspect it's because her soul was damaged in the transition."

"That's something I can help with," Fred said. "I know people who heal damaged souls. If I can get one of them here, she can heal Unit 02."

"Commander!" Misato protested. "How can you just sit there and let this … this … this …."

"Asshole?" Fred suggested. "Arrogant gaijin? Jerk? Pompous, egotistical sonofabitch?"

Misato let out a scream of rage and tried to grab Fred by the throat. Fred laughed and faded back, letting her fall on her face. She growled and pushed herself up, snatched her pistol from its holster, and emptied it into Fred's Ravenfield.

"Are you finished with your tantrum?" Fred asked, then looked over at Gendo. "You, I can work with. This one, on the other hand, needs to detox before I'll talk to her, let alone work with her. The question is, will it be inpatient or not?"

"Until she realizes she needs it, nothing you do will change her," Ritsuko said. "I should know. I've been trying since college."

"Well, then...," Fred caught Rei as she was reaching for Misato with an angry expression. "Not just yet, love. She's technically still your commander. Striking an officer, no matter how much she deserves it, will just get you into trouble."

"Captain!" Gendo snapped. "Holster your weapon! We will discuss your lack of self-control later."

"Just a moment, Gendo," Fred said. He fixed Misato in a piercing glare and chanted briefly. Light flared around Misato, then faded. "All right. She's safe."

"What did you do to her, Sensei?" Rei asked.

"I fixed her so she can't take any action based on anything she's learned here," Fred said. "She will remember it, but she can't use or communicate what she knows, or concludes, based on the information she gained in this room, with anyone other than those of us currently in this room." He looked at Gendo. "That means she can't tell SEELE what we're planning, for example. I would suggest, though, that you work things out with Yui _before_ you try what you want. You may find you don't need to join her in Unit 01 to be reunited with her, if you just treat her like you love her."

"Like?" Gendo asked, looking at Fred as if he'd grown a second head. "I promise you, it is not 'like' I love her. She is my only reason for living. Everything I have done here is so I can be reunited with her."

"Yui?" Fred called out.

"Gendo, my poor dear love," Yui said, "Have your people patch me through to your office, so we can talk privately. There is much we must discuss."

"Father?" Shinji said. "Thank you. Now that I know, thank you. I … it may take some time for my feelings to catch up, but your explanation helps. A lot. I just want you to be proud of me."

"I have always been proud of you, son," Gendo said. "As your mother has no doubt told you, though, it is not easy for me to say what I feel."

"That is a masterful example of understatement, my love," Yui said.

"Thank you," Gendo said, his voice choked.

"Gendo?" Ritsuko asked, her voice shaking.

"I know," Yui said. "It's all right. Perhaps you should join us after Gendo and I have spoken alone."

"You … you know?" Ritsuko stammered.

"You have left me connected to the Magi many times, Ritsuko-chan," Yui said gently. "I have seen you with Gendo enough times. I'm not angry, dear. It has been over ten years. He would have to be inhuman to endure this long without someone. I'm happy that he chose someone as resourceful as you." After a pause, she added, "I do, however, believe you should resolve Miss Ibuki's feelings for you, one way or another, before her heart is broken."

"Miss Ibuki?" Ritsuko asked, a confused look in her eyes. "Maya-chan?"

"I have observed that Ibuki-san hangs on your every word, act, and look, Akagi-san," Rei said. "I believe this means she feels in regard to you as I feel in regard to my Fred. You have most likely not noticed because when you are near her, you are usually engaged in highly directed and urgent work, and so are not free to notice her response to your presence. She may call you sempai, but the way she responds to you says that she desires much more."

" _You_ saw this, Rei?" Ritsuko asked, looking at Rei wide-eyed. " _You_ saw this, when _I_ was oblivious?"

"I do not believe you intended to be oblivious," Rei said. "I believe you were merely otherwise too occupied to notice. Before today, I would not have understood what I was seeing. It was too human."

"You … are different," Ritsuko said. "You're not the Rei I've worked with."

"No," Rei said. "I am not. I am learning to understand humanity. I am finding that it has some aspects I like."

"Rei," Gendo said. "Are you sure about this? It this what you want?"

"It is," Rei said. "I am still the girl you created, but I am also a woman who has chosen her mate."

"I can't have him as your sensei, you realize," Gendo said. "It would be wrong." He looked at Fred. "What do you do, besides drive Captain Katsuragi into a frothing rage, that is?"

"I build mecha, computers and cybernetics," Fred said. "Unlike yours, though, mine are entirely inorganic. I spend far too much time in universes other than my own, thanks to a war that's been ongoing for over ten years. I dig into secrets and trick people into doing what's best for themselves. I try to heal people who are in pain – not always as successfully as I would like. I take care of my family. I help my friends protect my home, and when I'm in the universes of friends who live in universes other than my own, I help them protect their homes. Most importantly, I look after the people I love, and do my best to ensure they have the chance to be all they can be."

"Can you work with him, Ritsuko?" Gendo asked.

"As long as he doesn't try to tamper with the Magi," Ritsuko said.

"Don't worry," Edgar said. "We won't. Dad has a moral objection to AIs, so unless the AI wants to be unshackled, we don't mess with them."

"Who are you?" Gendo asked, peering at Fred curiously.

"I'm Edgar," Edgar said. "Dad's eldest son and the housekeeping computer for his body."

"The housekeeping computer for his body?" Gendo asked.

"That's right," Fred said. "Before my true nature was awakened, I was killed by the American government. My brain was transplanted into an experimental cybernetic body, and while I was in that body, I designed the one you see now, so my best friend could transfer my brain before the experimental body failed. I've gotten so comfortable in this body, I've never bothered to restore myself to an organic one. After all, an organic body couldn't do this." He pointed his left hand at the thickest part of the wall opposite the observation window, transformed the arm into a particle beam rifle, and fired a shot into the wall, using just enough power to melt the metal. Having done that, he returned his arm to its natural form.

"How did you manage to produce a particle beam weapon so small?" Ritsuko gasped, her eyes lighting up with interest.

"This?" Fred asked, then grinned. "It's actually quite easy, as long as you don't think in three dimensions."

"Don't?" Ritsuko asked. "How many dimensions do you think in, then?"

"Twenty-seven," Fred said. "It's much easier that way."

"I want him on my staff," Ritsuko said.

"He's yours, then," Gendo said, then looked at Fred. "As long as you don't object, that is."

"Object?" Fred asked, then laughed. "As long as it means I can keep close to the kids and work on things that'll help keep them safe, I'm happy to be working with her." He turned and looked at Ritsuko. "But, Ritsuko, seriously, you have got to improve your choice in cigarettes. Whatever it is you're smoking smells like cheap, government-issue tobacco."

"It, uh, is," Ritsuko said. "At the rate I smoke, I can't afford the good stuff."

"Akagi-chan," Fred chuckled. "Quality before quantity, whenever possible. It's much more enjoyable that way. Edgar, how much of Britain is left?"

"Enough," Edgar said, "Although I'd recommend Scotland instead. There's a lot more of that left."

"Good," Fred said. "See if you can find anyone with a stock of Black Russians."

"Of course," Edgar snorted. "What else?"

"Black Russians?" Ritsuko asked. "Isn't that a drink? I thought you hated alcohol."

"I don't hate alcohol," Fred said. "In fact, I rather enjoy the flavor of some varieties. On the other hand, I absolutely despise drunks. My first wife's father is a drunk. I know exactly what kind of havoc drunks can wreak on everyone around them. That's why I'll have nothing to do with Captain Katsuragi until she's dried out."

"That does explain some things," Ritsuko said. "So if you're not talking about a drink, what are you talking about?"

"The only cigarettes in the world worth smoking," Fred said. "They're made with quality pipe tobacco, wrapped in black paper, and have gold foil covering their filters. They're the cigarettes James Bond used to smoke. They're the only cigarettes I will ever willingly smoke myself. The flavor is good enough that unless you smoke as a nervous habit, you can't help but savor each cigarette, and let the taste linger after you've finished."

"You make them sound like a fine wine," Ritsuko said.

"That's not a bad comparison," Fred said. "If Edgar can find a cache of them, you'll learn why."

"Commander," Misato said, her voice low and tense. "Do you realize what that … that … that … _thing_ has done to me?"

"Yes, I do," Gendo said. "While I did not approve it in advance, I must agree with his judgment. Captain, I will be transferring you from operational command of the Evas to an administrative position, effective immediately. Your talents are too useful to waste, but as long as you are under the influence, you are not reliable enough to risk in a command position."

"Commander!" Misato protested.

"I could always put you on medical leave," Gendo said, "to last until you have been sober long enough to ensure all detoxification effects are past. However, since you are a talented officer, I would prefer to keep you on active duty while you sober up."

"I … am … not … a … drunk!" Misato shrieked.

"Oh yes," Gendo said. "Ritsuko, would you be so kind as to order a crew to move Shinji to … what name do you prefer to use?"

"If you have to address me formally," Fred said, "Mr. MacManus works. For work and informal situations, I just go by Fred. My call sign is Raven, of course, in case you ever need to contact me by radio."

"Of course," Gendo said. "All right. Ritsuko, would you have Shinji's things moved to Fred's apartment immediately? Rei, would you like help moving your things?"

"I do not have much to move, Commander," Rei said. "I am sure Sensei and I can manage it without assistance."

"If that's what you want," Gendo said.

_"Snap!"_ Edgar thought, as he activated Fred's tactical display.

Misato was raising her pistol, the barrel swinging toward Gendo. Fred's Ravenfield went immediately to full black, and he spun, putting himself between Misato and the others, He fired a burst of positrons into the pistol's magazine, causing the ammunition to cook off before it reached the chamber. The shock of her pistol's grip bulging in her hand while the magazine's floor plate blew out the bottom of the grip distracted Misato just long enough for Fred to move in and punch her, sending her flying across the room and through the observation window. She came to a stop, unconscious, on the floor beside Fuyutsuki.

"I recommend inpatient treatment," Fred said sadly as he lowered his Ravenfield. "She just snapped and tried to shoot you, Gendo. I'm afraid losing Shinji was the last insult her sanity could take."

Gendo rose to his feet and crossed the room to the observation window. He looked through and nodded to Fuyutsuki.

"Order a medical team to transfer her to psychiatric care," Gendo said. "Who do we have who we can trust to care for her?"

"That would be Dr. Mitsuishi," Fuyutsuki said. "She has the most experience with people cracking under stress."

"Good," Gendo said. "Make sure the Captain is assigned to her. Reassign any other patients if necessary."

Fred frowned as he studied Misato's unconscious form, and muttered, "Damn it. I pushed her too hard."

"You had to have guessed this would be a possible outcome," Ritsuko said.

"I didn't think she was that fragile," Fred said."All I wanted was to make sure that she couldn't avoid facing her problem. Unfortunately, by not realizing how fragile she was, I made sure that instead of the alcohol being her problem, I am. Damn it! I can't fix this. The best I can do is call in a bubasti friend."

"Bubasti?" Ritsuko asked.

"Child of Bast," Fred said. "They specialize in mental health. If anyone can get her sane again, it's a bubasti."

"If you say so," Ritsuko said, the disbelief patent in her tone.

Gendo turned from Fuyutsuki to look thoughtfully at Fred for several moments, then said, "I wonder if you truly intended what you did as retaliation for my attempt to kill Rei, or if you simply used that as an excuse to do something you had intended all along."

"It _is_ an interesting question, isn't it?" Fred answered, smiling.

"Not nearly as interesting as the fact that I can speak with my wife and son again, thanks to you," Gendo said. "I would gladly accept any punishment that allows me that gift."

"That's why I can't hate you, despite your holding Lilith prisoner," Fred said. "You do realize that the Angels can feel her, and are drawn to her like iron to a magnet, right?"

"Yes," Gendo said. "It helps us control where the Angels attack us. It's why we placed this city where it is, and designed it the way we did. It's as far away from any other major city as we could make it and still be believed, and with her here, the Angels come to us, rather than randomly attacking inhabited cities."

"Sachiel was not interested in attacking anyone," Fred said. "It was only interested in rescuing Adam. It was willing to exterminate everyone here to do so, because humans are little more than bacteria to the Angels, and they care for us as little as we care for the bacteria on our skin. I had convinced it to let me try to rescue Adam when you launched Shinji at it. Unfortunately, it self-destructed before it could inform the others of our agreement, so we are going to have to assume that any Angels that come after today will be just as hostile as Shamshel was, although Shamshel didn't seem to care about Adam, as long as it could destroy things."

"You were able to negotiate with Sachiel?" Gendo asked, giving Fred a surprised look. "As far as the Scrolls foretell, the Angels will not negotiate."

"The Scrolls?" Fred asked. "What do you mean?"

"The Secret Scrolls," Gendo said. "You know about the Dead Sea Scrolls, yes?"

"Discovered in the 1940s," Fred said, "mostly fragmentary copies of the various books of Jewish scriptures, along with religious commentary and the usual tedious documents associated with managing a community."

"That covers the contents of the public scrolls," Gendo said. "But SEELE discovered far more than that. They found prophecies about the coming of the Angels, which ones and in what order they would be appearing, what the purpose of Adam and Lilith are, how to use the Spear of Longinus, even the contents of the white and black moons, all in enough detail to justify them spending the money necessary to find this location, excavate Lilith's Black Moon, and use it as the core of this city."

"What is this Black Moon?" Fred asked.

"Lilith's spaceship," Gendo said. "It crashed here, creating the volcano. It is the source of all life on this planet."

"Do you have a copy of these scrolls?" Fred asked.

"Of course," Gendo said.

"All right, who's next, and will I be able to communicate with it?" Fred asked.

"Ramiel," Fuyutsuki said. "We know little of what it is or can do, but there is no indication that it will be interested in communication."

"Lovely," Fred groaned. "Ritsuko, I'm going to want to build some weapons for the Evas. Their designs will be inaccessible to anyone outside this room."

"What do you have in mind?" Ritsuko asked.

"Micro-singularities," Fred said. "I blew up a planet with a one hundred meter radius one not too long ago, and I have a friend who routinely uses five millimeter versions as hand grenades."

"You can generate singularities to order?" Ritsuko asked, staring at Fred in disbelief.

"It's easy," Fred said, shrugging. "All you have to do is overdrive the gravity generator when it activates. Since it's only going to be active for a microsecond or so, you can push the circuits to meltdown. They'll still be part of the effective mass, even after they melt."

"You're insane," Ritsuko said, after a moment of staring at Fred. "Thank goodness you're on our side."

"Actually, I'm on her side," Fred said, reaching for Rei. When she moved into his arms and smiled, he added, "So, you should be thankful you're on her side, too."

"This is going to take some getting used to," Ritsuko muttered. "The human race saved because a man from another universe is in love with Lilith."

"So you know," Fred said. "Good. That makes it easier. Does Gendo realize that's who she is?"

"If he doesn't, it's only because he's so obsessed with bringing back Yui," Ritsuko hissed, while angrily rubbing at her face.

"She approves of you," Rei said softly. "If the Commander is wise, he will take her advice. If you are wise, you will ask for her advice in how to deal with him."

"Are you sure you don't understand humans, Rei?" Ritsuko asked softly, while smiling at Rei. "That sounded like truly human advice."

"It is only rational," Rei said. "Why should the two of you fight over the Commander, when she is a thousand times his size, and she approves of your interest in him? Would it not be better to take advantage of her understanding of him, to ensure that your interest bears fruit?"

In the observation room, Gendo and Fuyutsuki supervised the transfer of Misato to a gurney so she could be taken to the medical section. Gendo returned while Ritsuko was still staring at Rei, obviously trying to work out an answer to her suggestion.

"The Captain is on her way to Medical," Gendo announced. "I will be in my office. Dr. Akagi, you can arrange Shinji's move, yes? Mr. MacManus, I will expect to see you in my office at 0800. I have already sent a message to the school, informing them you are being transferred here."

"Understood," Fred said. "0800. I'll be here, barring anything extreme like an Angel blocking the entrances." He looked down at Rei. "Ready to go, love? We should get you moved in before Ritsuko gets Shinji's stuff."

"I am ready whenever you are, Fred," Rei said, looking up at him expectantly. "Do you know where my apartment is?"

"Plotting," Edgar said. "I'm getting a satellite photo now."

"I have it," Fred said. He wrapped his arms tightly around Rei, and suddenly, the two of them were standing on the roof of an apartment building.

"This way, Fred," Rei said, removing a key from under her dress, which she used to unlock the roof door and lead Fred into the building.

The building's interior reminded Fred of abandoned buildings he'd seen on dozens of worlds, except the rats always found in this type of building were confined, in this case, to the four-legged variety. Rei led the way down into the building, casually kicking aside those rats that were too slow in moving out of the way. She stopped at a door on the top floor, near the main stairwell.. After disconnecting a hot electrical line from the door knob, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Inside the apartment, heaps of refuse were scattered around the floor. Used ramen bowls, discarded bandages with dried blood stains, even clothing that was stained and torn, were jumbled together in heaps that left trails from the door to the various destinations in the apartment.

"Rei?" Fred asked as he followed her through the apartment, holding various things she handed to him. "How did you live like this?"

"Until today," Rei said, "I had no reason to care. I was Commander Ikari's tool, and as long as my living conditions did not injure me, they were unimportant."

"Well," Fred said gently, "You're not Gendo's tool any more. We are helping Gendo, but you are not his property."

"Of course not," Rei said, pausing to smile up at Fred. "I am yours. When will I get to meet the others?"

"Very soon, love," Fred said, then smiled. "Of course, there is someone I need to phone, to keep her from getting into trouble. As soon as she learns I've been Banished again, she's going to want to punish those responsible, and she could get hurt if she tries that."

"Phone's ringing, Dad," Edgar said. After a moment, a holographic image appeared, of a white-haired girl in a shrine maiden's outfit, her eyes of different colors, and a birthmark in the shape of the Little Dipper on her cheek.

"Master!" Hokuto exclaimed. "Miri-sister told me you had been Banished again, but she and Gil took care of the bad guys so there weren't any left for me to punish." Her tone sounded distinctly pouty, until her gaze fell on Rei, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Ayanami? Master? Is that Ayanami?"

"Uh … yes," Fred said. "How did you know?"

"Alex showed me Anno's Therapy Notes," Hokuto giggled. "We shared popcorn and giggled at the silly mecha and aliens."

"Anno's … Therapy … Notes?" Fred asked.

"Uh-huh!" Hokuto said. "That's what Alex calls the anime. It's real name has something to do with evangelion, but Alex says the scripts are written like every character in it is in desperate need of a bubasti babysitter."

Fred coughed, then broke into laughter. "Damn! Trust Alex to find the weird shit, huh? She's not that far off, either. Speaking of which, I'm going to need to talk with Ginger or Lauren after I get my mandatory Hokuto Hugs."

Hokuto broke into giggles and reached out for Fred, who reached into the image, and for a moment it appeared as if he and Hokuto were actually embracing. As they embraced, light flowed from Fred to Hokuto, and she wiggled happily. After the two embraced for over a minute, Hokuto pulled away and looked at Rei.

"Ayanami will take care of Master?" Hokuto asked, fixing Rei with a piercing gaze.

"Yes," Rei said. "I will want to learn more about Anno's Therapy Notes."

"Hokuto can tell Ayanami lots!" Hokuto declared. "Ayanami can ask Edgar to transfer phone calls for Hokuto and Miri and Hel and Ri and Aribeth and Tali and Hikaru and Arith and Mar."

"These are all the wives Fred mentioned?" Rei asked.

"Oh good!" Hokuto exclaimed. "Master already told Ayanami about other wives. Which Angel is most recent?"

"Shamshel," Rei said, then tilted her head as she studied Hokuto. "You know about the Angels?"

"Hokuto knows," Hokuto said. "Ayanami knows to not trust SEELE, right?"

"Yes," Rei said. "The Commander has told us about their plan."

"Master took the staff out of Gendo's butt?" Hokuto giggled. "Good! Hokuto would not want to have to go there and give Gendo a boot to the head." She giggled, gave Fred a sidelong look, and added, "Not without letting Master have his chance, first."

"Why do you call him Master?" Rei asked, while watching Fred blush.

"Hokuto calls him Master because he is!" Hokuto said. "Master is Hokuto's bonded monk. Hokuto would not be alive if Master had not rescued her. Hokuto is shikabane hime because Master loves her and took her in when she was still just a shikabane. Hokuto loves Master and would do anything for him."

"I see," Rei said. She gave Fred a thoughtful look, then smiled and asked Hokuto, "Would Hokuto be sad if I called him Master, too?"

Fred choked and turned to give Rei a questioning look. She looked back at him with a perfect poker face. Hokuto squealed excitedly.

"Ayanami wants to be Master's, too?" Hokuto squealed happily. "Hokuto would be so happy if Ayanami were her sister! Hokuto would not be sad at all!"

"I believe that is what should happen, then," Rei said, "He shall be Master to me, as he is to Hokuto."

Hokuto squealed happily and leaped to embrace Rei. Rei's expression briefly revealed surprise when Hokuto's arms wrapped around her, and she returned the embrace hesitantly, then with as much certainty as if Hokuto were physically present.

Fred pinched his eyes together and groaned, while Hokuto giggled and Rei smiled.

"I believe we have discomfited Master," Rei said. "What do you like to do when you are … playing … with him?"

"Master is so cute when he gets red," Hokuto said. "Hokuto likes to tease Master about needing a Spock. Then again, all of us like to tease Master about needing a Spock."

"Please!" Fred protested, wagging a finger at Hokuto and barely managing to contain his laughter. "I, do not speak, like a, bad, television actor!"

"Or like a notorious Starfleet admiral, either," Hokuto giggled. "Hokuto has heard recordings from that universe, Master. He really _did_ talk like that!"

"Oh my," Fred laughed. "I am in so much trouble, aren't I?"

"That depends," Rei said, "on how you define trouble. If you consider my personal attention to be trouble, then you are in trouble."

"Hokuto thinks Ayanami knows how to take care of Master," Hokuto giggled. "Hokuto can recommend videos if Ayanami needs educational information."

"I may ask for those recommendations," Rei said. "Thank you, Hokuto. I believe we should finish collecting my things before Master is overwhelmed by our teasing."

"OK!" Hokuto said. "Hokuto will wait for Ayanami to phone."

"Hokuto," Rei said. "Since we are to be sisters, it is all right for you to call me Rei."

"Hokuto will remember!" Hokuto squealed happily, then disconnected. A moment later, a red-haired woman appeared in the image.

"Did you get Banished again, Fred?" the red-haired woman asked.

"Again," Fred said, shaking his head. "So she did remember to call you. I thought she was too excited to remember."

"Partner did, actually," the red-haired woman said. "So what is the time slip, and why did you need me?"

"It's a day on my side for every minute back home," Fred said. "I need you because I broke someone. Well, I need a bubasti, anyway. You and Lauren were the first people to come to mind, and it's likely to be difficult for her to cross."

"It would be," the red-haired woman said. "And I'm better at fixing people than she is, anyway."

"Thank goodness," Fred said. "The one I broke is a drunk. Given the circumstances, I suspect she was using alcohol to try to hide from … well, I'm not sure what, but taking away the kid she'd been assigned to be guardian of was what finally broke her."

"She was orphaned at the age Shinji and I are," Rei said. "She was raised by SEELE after that. It could have had negative consequences."

"Could have?" Fred snorted. "Rei, love, did you learn understatement from Gendo?"

"I learned many things from the Commander," Rei said.

"So, situational issues," the red-haired woman said, "plus a good chance of her mind having been booby-trapped?"

"Very likely," Rei said. "If my experience is any indication, SEELE is likely to have attempted some form of programming before sending her off to college. I am certain the Commander would know – or at least suspect – more, though."

"We'll ask him tomorrow, then," Fred said. "How about you, Ginger? Want to bring Red with? I'm not sure I'd risk the kids here. At last, not until they're all well-armed and sufficiently suspicious."

"Well, you definitely keep us from being bored," Ginger said. "And given what you've said, I don't think Red will let me come alone."

"He can always try herding Angels," Fred laughed. "Oh, and if you find Faern'ya, would you ask her to give me a call? There's a soul over here that needs healing."

"I would say two souls," Rei said, "assuming you believe that Langley's problem is a soul problem, and not a psychological one."

"I've been assuming psychological," Fred said. "And Ginger would be perfect for her, too. If nothing else, she can always bring the claws out."

"Langley?" Ginger asked, rubbed her eyes, and peered at Rei, then groaned. "Oh no! Mom showed me this anime!"

"Great," Fred grumbled. "Am I the only person in the tower who _hasn't_ seen it?"

"I would like to know more about it," Rei said. "Am I to understand that Alex is your mother?"

"It gets complicated," Ginger sighed. "I'll find someone to watch the kids. There's no way Red's going to let me anywhere near that universe without him."

"Thanks, Ginger," Fred said. "Given how fast Edgar got the connection, David should be able to dial us in as soon as you're ready."

"Have Edgar send me your shopping list," Ginger said, "and I'll bring it with the rest of my gear."

"Too busy going through the data in the Magi," Edgar said. "I've already decrypted enough to fill the Library of Congress, and still have the equivalent of the Vatican to go through."

"The only real library anywhere in the city is in the Commander's office," Rei said. "He keeps the tomes that are too dangerous to scan into the Magi where he can see them."

Fred laughed and hugged Rei, then grinned at Ginger. "So, are you going to tell Faern'ya she can bring her girlfriend, or are you going to invite your sister?"

"What's wrong with both?" Ginger asked. "We might need them."

"Good point," Fred said. "In that case, you might want to call up Sally and her girlfriend, too. I can always make my apartment bigger."

"Expect Mikhail Andreiovich as well," Ginger said. "And at this point, I cannot promise no stowaways."

"I know, I know," Fred chuckled. "Once you get enough grownups doing something that looks like it might be interesting, there will be kittens. Maybe we should just load Max into Amelia and let them come without having to stow away."

"Actually, we can hope they've seen enough of the anime that they know better," Ginger said. "In fact, I'll ask Cal to make sure they get a chance to see enough."

"It's that bad?" Fred asked, giving Rei a worried look.

"Think of a bad acid trip, mediated by a psychiatrist who is offended by your very existence," Ginger said.

"That is … disturbing," Rei said.

"I'm with you, love," Fred said, reaching out to hug Rei. He nodded at Ginger. "OK, I'll still ask Max and Amelia to make the trip, so you don't have to use the gate. I don't know about you, but hyperspace gives me far fewer headaches when I'm in a ship than when I'm in a wormhole."

"You know, you're right, why is that?" Ginger said, then threw up her hands, looking frazzled. "I have too much to do! How does Miri do this?"

"I'll just let you do your thing now," Fred said, chuckling. "I'll have Amelia call you when she's ready to make the jump."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving day. Ritsuko interrogates Fred. Rei demonstrates her fondness for active observational techniques.

As Rei had said, she had very little to move: a few school uniform dresses with associated socks and underwear and a single spare pair of shoes made up her entire supply of clothing. A half-melted pair of Gendo's glasses and her school laptop made up the rest of her possessions.

Fred frowned as he helped Rei unpack her meager possessions and said softly, "We are going shopping, love. You deserve the chance to express yourself as an individual."

"Not tonight, I hope," Rei said, giving Fred a sly smile.

"You know, if the others saw you like this, they'd be stunned," Fred said, chuckling. "You're not the Commander's little doll at all, are you?"

"Not when I have someone who I can feel in my heart," Rei said. "Should we not expect Shinji to arrive soon?"

"I'm surprised he isn't here already," Fred said. As the words were leaving his mouth, the doorbell rang. "Shall we welcome him?"

"Of course, Master," Rei said, smiled as Fred blushed, then led the way to the door.

"Good evening, Shinji-kun," Rei said as she opened the door. "Master will show you your room. Hello, Dr. Akagi. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Master?" Ritsuko mouthed, looking at Fred suspiciously. Fred shrugged and pointed at Rei.

"Yes, Dr. Akagi," Rei said. "Is he not adorable, the way he looks when I call him that? I decided that Hokuto should not be the only one to call him Master, and so I choose to make him mine, as well."

"Hokuto?" Ritsuko asked.

"Why don't we go get some tea and I'll explain," Fred said. "Rei and Shinji can supervise your staff and … Tux?"

"Waaagh!" a three-foot-tall penguin with a prominent red feather crest squawked imperiously at Fred. _"Do I look like a stupid human to you? Now move out of the way so my servants can bring in my freezer."_

_"Look, let's get one thing clear right now,"_ Fred shot back. _"I am not the drunk, so I will not tolerate being treated like her. You want to live under my roof, you behave appropriately."_

_"What? You understand me?"_ the penguin gasped. _"You're the first human to understand me since the day I was hatched! Even the drunk doesn't understand me, she just feels sorry for me because I was genetically engineered."_

_"Just don't tell me your name is Mughi,"_ Fred said, _"and I won't have to find sedatives."_

_"No,"_ the penguin said. _"Everyone calls me Pen-Pen. Has since I was hatched. Stupid name, but I'm stuck with it."_

_"Well,"_ Fred said, _"As long as you behave like a civilized person, we'll get along fine. If you don't, I'll bring in my hatchlings. They're enough to run_ me _ragged."_

_"Enough to run_ you _ragged?"_ Pen-Pen choked. _"Uh, right. So, what do you want me to do?"_

_"Just help me keep the human hatchlings out of trouble,"_ Fred said. _"There's one more coming in, that I know of, and she has an ego the size of a planet."_

_"Can I just hide now?"_ Pen-Pen whimpered. _"Maybe go find a nice safe bullet train to sleep in front of?"_

_"Come on now, it can't be that bad,"_ Fred chuckled. _"So, did the drunk have you eating human food, or was she smart enough to keep you in fish?"_

_"She got a regular shipment of herring in for me,"_ Pen-Pen said. _"I wouldn't mind a little variety, but how do you tell a drunk that? By the way, Yebisu gets real old, real fast. You think maybe we could get in some Tsing-Tao or Ki-Rin?"_

_"Yebisu?"_ Fred asked. _"You were drinking Yebisu?"_

Pen-Pen pointed at the beer cooler, filled to the top with cans of Yebisu.

_"Damn,"_ Fred said, shaking his head. _"OK, it's bad enough she had you drinking beer, but did it have to be Japan's answer to Coors?"_

_"Don't look at me,"_ Pen-Pen said. _"It's not as if she ever asked my opinion, after all. I'm just glad she had the sense to get in herring, instead of something tasteless and full of bones. Have you ever had to eat koi? Bleah!"_

_"I'll bet,"_ Fred said. _"When's the last time she got you any mackerel or tuna or sardines?"_

Pen-Pen's eyes got big and he whimpered. _"Sardines? I haven't had sardines since I left the lab."_

_"We'll take care of that right quick, then,"_ Fred said. _"Give me a list of your favorite fish, or at least fish you'd like to try. I'll see what I can find. I'll talk to my dolphin friends and see if they have any suggestions, too."_

"Are you actually talking to him?" Ritsuko asked after a minute of staring at Fred and Pen-Pen and listening to the two exchange loud squawks. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen Pen-Pen whimper."

"Oh?" Fred asked, then nodded. "Yeah. I just found out he hasn't had any sardines since he left the lab. I told him to give me a shopping list and I'd see what I could find."

"Give you a …," Ritsuko started, trailed off, then shook her head. "Why not? He watches TV and reads the paper. If his handwriting is legible, he certainly ought to be able to give you a shopping list."

"That reminds me," Fred said, turned back to Pen-Pen, and began squawking again. _"What's with the backpack?"_

_"You see the size of my skull?"_ Pen-Pen asked. _"Too small to fit enough brains in for my IQ. So the scientists fixed up this backpack to carry around my cybernetic enhancements. Without the backpack, I'd be just some mutant overgrown crested penguin."_

_"I can fix that for you,"_ Fred said. _"Get your cybernetics down to the size of a collar instead of that big-ass backpack. You like that idea?"_

_"Lose five pounds of excess weight?"_ Pen-Pen snorted. _"Hell, yeah! Where do I sign?"_

_"No need to sign anything,"_ Fred said. _"Just give me a little time to build it, and it's yours. I don't like seeing people bogged down by shit when they don't have to."_

Rei knelt and gave Pen-Pen a hug. He squawked happily and rubbed his head between her breasts.

_"She's gonna be here?"_ Pen-Pen asked. _"Good. I swear, she's the only sane human around here. Besides, she treats me good."_

Fred sat back and laughed. _"Oh, man, that's good. Yeah, you and I are going to get along just fine."_ He patted Pen-Pen on the shoulder and was kissed by Rei before he could get to his feet. "Do you have Shinji moved in yet, love?"

"Yes, Master," Rei said, her voice almost perky enough to make him worry. "I'm going to go make sure my things are ready for school. Shinji said something about needing to think."

"I'm sure he does," Fred said. "He hasn't spoken to his mother in over ten years. That's a lot of catching up."

As soon as Rei was out of the room, Ritsuko looked out into the hallway, then closed the door and glared at Fred, while pointing at the kitchen table.

"You and I are going to have a talk," Ritsuko growled. "What's this 'master' bullshit?"

Fred sighed heavily. "Edgar, show her a picture of Hokuto, please."

A holographic image of Hokuto appeared above the middle of the table. "This is my sixth wife. She is a shikabane hime. I am her bonded monk. Because of our bond, and because she loves me more than her own life, Hokuto has decided that I am her Master. She had decided that within five minutes of my bonding to her, without anyone giving me any hint until my second wife began laughing and teasing me about it."

"Your … second … wife?" Ritsuko asked. "How many wives do you have?"

"Nine," Fred said. "Ten, including Rei." Before she could cut in, he added, "You have to include Rei, because ... well, you heard her at the base this afternoon. Are _you_ going to try to tell her otherwise? I know _I'm_ not. Mostly because even if I didn't know I'm going to end up loving her, there's no way in Hell I'm going to hurt her the way denying her would."

Ritsuko studied Fred for a few moments, then asked, "What do you mean 'going to end up loving her'? It seems pretty obvious to me that the 'going to' has already arrived." She looked at Hokuto curiously. "She's really dead?"

"As a doornail," Fred said. "The only thing that lets her live now is the life energy she gets from me. I could resurrect her, but she doesn't want it. She's proud of being my princess. Calling me Master is her way of expressing how devoted she is."

"Tell me about your other wives," Ritsuko said. "I want to be sure Rei isn't going into a bad situation."

_"That's weird,"_ Edgar said. _"According to Anno's Therapy Notes, she should hate Rei, see her as competition for Gendo's love."_

"Well, My first wife is Miriam Gröenshild MacManus," Fred said, as an image of Miri appeared over the table. "She's a fighter pilot, used to fly for the IAF, and a forensic examiner. She doesn't get nearly as much flight time as she'd like these days, because she's one of the few forensic examiners on the planet who is absolutely reliable and absolutely incorruptible." A smaller version of Miri, as well as the toddler who had been carrying the assault rifle, appeared in the image with her. "She's the mother of my daughter MJ and my son Gil." A ruby-red dragon hatchling, the size of a school bus, appeared behind her. "She's also the adoptive mother of my adopted son Cal," a small girl with floor-length black hair with greenish highlights, garnet-colored eyes, and a secretive smile appeared, beside a boy who looked like a physically younger, but at the same time far more world-weary, version of Fred, "and the foster mother of my oldest son Liam and my oldest daughter Setsuna."

"That's a lot of family," Ritsuko said. "How does she manage it?"

"She asks herself the same thing," Fred chuckled, "just about every day." Despite the chuckle, his gaze rested on the image as if being apart from the people in it was painful to him.

"You said she's your first wife?" Ritsuko said. "Who's next?"

"That would be Hel," Fred said, as another, younger woman appeared, with beautiful white-blonde hair and ice-blue eye, with flawless white skin on the right side of her face, while the left side of her face appeared to be that of a desiccated corpse, with the hair falling out in clumps and a film over her eye. "She was the first one other than Miri to capture my heart, but I didn't realize it until she and Miri pinned me down as a team. Until then, I thought of her as my foster daughter."

"Your foster daughter?" Ritsuko asked, staring at Fred as if he were insane. "The Norse goddess of dishon – "

"Don't you _dare_ use that word in relation to Hel," Fred snapped, showing anger Ritsuko had not seen even when he was taunting Misato. "There is nothing dishonorable about dying peacefully, of old age or under any circumstances other than battle. _Nothing!_ Odin can have his mass-murdering serial killers, rapists, and maniacs! Hel gets the artists, the scientists, the doctors and poets. The only reason she gets that word attached to her is that Odin's priests were the one who wrote the stories, because her priests were too busy ministering to the sick and heartbroken."

Ritsuko held up her hands and spoke softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. How did she end up as your foster daughter?"

"Odin missed," Fred said, then laughed sourly. "She was six years old when he cast her out of Asgard. Just picked her up and threw her. Double-dealing backstabbing oathbreaker must have been too drunk to aim that day or something, though, because instead of landing in Niflheim, she landed in my living room. Think about it. _Six_ _years old!_ He threw her out of Asgard, not because she was actually evil, but because he needed to _create_ someone evil in order to have his ultimate war of good against evil, with him as the representative of good." Fred spat on the floor and muttered. "Lowlife sonofabitch scumbag."

"All right," Ritsuko said softly. "I can see why you hate him, but tell me about her."

"Imagine someone who loves every living thing," Fred said, "and wants to be sure that it gets every chance to live every moment of its allotted time, and then, when the time comes for it to die, will do everything in her power to make it clean and compassionate, without suffering. Imagine someone who loves art and music and sunlight and being held and danced with, and knows that there's never enough time to get it all in, so she doesn't try to hold back for fear of not being seen as serious or grave enough. She tries to make sure everyone around her feels all the love within her, every chance she has to give it, so that if it's their last moment alive, they'll die knowing that they are loved. _That_ is what Hel is like."

"She sounds beautiful," Ritsuko said. "I can see why you love her."

"And she's the mother of my twins," Fred said, as the image of two boys, both with hair streaked black and white, with their mother's features, appeared standing in front of Hel. "They're nearly as secretive as Setsuna, but, well, they're all of about seven years old, and you know what boys are like at that age." He looked at the image with the same love he had shown when looking at Miri and her children.

"That's two," Ritsuko said. "Three if you include your sixth wife. Who else?"

"Ari," Fred said, smiling as the image of a waif-thin woman, not much taller than Rei, with pointed ears and strawberry blonde hair appeared. "I met her the first time I was Banished. We stopped a sorceress from destroying all mammalian life on her world in order to conquer it for a reptilian species." He frowned and said sadly, "Unfortunately, she was murdered because the lord she served considered her a traitor when, after over six months of nightly torture, she broke and submitted to the people who had been torturing her. I had to go to Hell to rescue her, the second time I was banished to her world. She's pregnant now, with our first child."

"You rescued her from Hell?" Ritsuko asked. "How many of your wives are associated with death? So far you've told me one is a coroner, one is Hel, one is a living corpse, and now you have one you rescued from Hell?"

"Yeah," Fred said, smiling. "That pretty much covers it. I mean, Ri's a detective who I found in a shipping crate, wrapped around a nuclear bomb, Tali is an engineer I found when I helped rescue her world from being wiped out by robots that make Shamshel look like an amoeba, Hikaru is half succubus and half rakshasa, Arith is Rigelian and Mar is Andorian, and they were lovers before they hijacked me … that pretty much covers it, other than Ri's litter, Shala, and HJ

"Ri's litter?" Ritsuko asked. "Shala? HJ?"

"Ri is my fourth wife," Fred said. The image over the table changed to a petite woman in a trench coat, with long black hair and skunk ears on top of her head, in addition to the human ears in their normal position. Around her were four girls and two boys, all of whom had the same arrangement of ears. "Her full name is Kad'riana Salustan MacManus. She comes from a planet called Salusia. Their people are able to use a device that makes them look human, except for the extra set of ears. She's the one who I found in the crate. She was hunting down a terrorist group when they caught her and put her in the crate, along with the bomb, in order to blow up anyone who tried to rescue her."

The image changed to a woman with long silvery hair, two fingers and a thumb on each hand, a petite figure, full hips, and legs that looked as if she were walking on her toes – which were arranged on her feet in the same was as the fingers on her hands. She was accompanied by a smaller version of herself, but with hair the same color as Fred's, and a robot that looked as if it had been made by her, or someone of her species, with a chestplate that had "N7" printed on it.

"That's Tali, Shala, and Nat. Nat is Tali's Companion, although he spends almost as much time helping Miri manage the family as he does keeping Tali company. I keep expecting that one day his people are going to send a shipload of themselves through hyperspace to my universe, so that every one of us will have a Companion."

The image of Tali vanished, to be replaced by Hokuto again, except this time Hokuto was accompanied by a girl who could only have been her daughter, given the way she held her cradled to her breast.

"I take it that's HJ?" Ritsuko asked.

"That's right," Fred said. "She's four now, and has nearly as much energy as her mother."

Hokuto vanished, and was replaced by the image of a girl who would have to look up at Rei, with reddish skin, tiny little horns on her forehead, and subtle points to her ears, which looked almost feline from the right angles, while her strawberry blonde hair had subtle hints of stripes in it. Behind her, a tail curled up and wrapped around her waist, and she had cloven hooves with fur fringe around them instead of feet.

"This is Hikaru," Fred said. "Her father was part succubus, and her mother was part rakshasa, and somehow, both were amplified and reinforced in her. She comes from the same world Ari comes from. It was when I met her that I was able to rescue Ari from Hell, in fact." He grinned at Ritsuko and added, chuckling, "No, she's not pregnant. Yet."

"Finally, Arith and Mar," Fred said, as the image changed to a couple, both wiry and slightly taller than Fred, one with green skin, dark hair and pointed ears, the other with blue skin, white hair and antennae instead of ears. "She's Arith, and she's Mar, and they were lovers before they met me. When we met, the two of them invited me to join them, and when they joined minds with mine, we bonded instantly. They've been helping keep Miri sane, right alongside Nat, ever since we returned to my world. And, no, neither of them is pregnant yet, either."

"You say that like it's a recurring question," Ritsuko said.

"It is," Fred said, chuckling and shaking his head. "People are constantly asking when they're going to have babies." He grinned. "Last time someone asked Mar that, she shoved a pistol up his nose and asked if he was volunteering to get pregnant for her. Once Arith and I talked her down, we had to applaud her for shutting the idiot up."

"A … can you show me all of them again?" Ritsuko asked.

All of the women, and their children, appeared in a single image over the table. Ritsuko leaned forward, apparently studying the image, then looked at Fred with a shocked expression.

"Every one of them," Ritsuko gasped, "except Hokuto and the infants and toddlers, is carrying a weapon!"

Fred looked over the image, double-checking Ritsuko's claim. Miri had her Galil, Liam had his sword, Setsuna had her garnet-topped staff, MJ had her backpack and a brace of throwing daggers. Hel had her sword, Thoryngri had his daggers and Lokiönnur had his hammer. Ari had her bow and matched set of longswords. Tali had her plasma shotgun and Shala had her getta-made pistol. HJ was bouncing a set of brass knuckles in her hand. Hikaru had her claws strapped to her forearms. Arith and Mar had Type 2 phasers on their belts. Fred nodded.

"Good," Fred said. "Don't want any of them being naked." He laughed. "Even if Gil isn't allowed to have an assault rifle until he's big enough that it won't knock him on his ass when he pulls the trigger."

"But why so much weaponry?" Ritsuko asked.

"Self-defense is like eating or making love," Fred said. "It's not something you can rely on someone else to do for you. So, it's perfectly reasonable to have the tools necessary to defend yourself."

"Self-defense is like …," Ritsuko stared at Fred as if he were insane. "Civilized people shouldn't have to do that!"

"Because the police do it for you?" Fred asked. "Tell me, why does wearing a uniform make someone better suited to protecting you than you are yourself? For that matter, why does wearing a uniform make someone more capable of carrying a weapon than not wearing a uniform? While we're at it, how are the police supposed to protect you when criminals only ever attack in places where the police aren't? Are you supposed to somehow convince the criminal to wait around until the police show up, so the police can protect you?"

"That's just being facetious!" Ritsuko snapped.

"Is it?" Fred asked. "Seriously? You know that the criminals do everything they can to avoid the police, so why shouldn't you expect them to avoid the police if they're trying to mug you – or worse?"

Ritsuko just stared at Fred, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Tea?" Fred asked, standing and crossing the kitchen to fill a kettle. "I'm sure Shinji and Rei are going to want something when they're done unpacking his stuff." He studied Pen-Pen's freezer and shook his head, chuckling. "You know, she must really care about him, even if she's not capable of properly taking care of him."

"She rescued him from a genetics lab," Ritsuko said, after a moment of staring at Fred while she tried to follow his jumps in topic. "They were going to euthanize him after their experiment was done."

"After they made him sapient?" Fred growled, while putting the kettle on the stove.. "I'd have rescued him, too. At the very least. Probably would have done something very rude to the researchers, too."

"Something rude?" Ritsuko asked. She got to her feet and began looking for cups and tea.

"Something rude," Fred said. "Committing aggression against a sapient being is wrong, under all circumstances. They made him sapient, so they had a responsibility to not commit aggression against him. I would have done whatever it took to protect him, and depending on how they had treated him before their plan to murder him, maybe indulged in a little retaliation. Bottom right, next to the refrigerator."

"But you just said that aggression is wrong!" Ritsuko protested, while opening the indicated cupboard and retrieving cups and saucers.

"It is," Fred said. "Hmm … yeah, genmai sounds good. It's hot enough." He opened a canister and began scooping tea into a pot. "Yeah. Aggression is wrong. Always. Therefore, defense against aggression, and retaliation for that aggression, is always indicated. How else are you going to stop the aggressors? If they're aggressors, then by definition, they aren't going to agree to sit down over tea, so you have to smack them – hard – to get their attention. Sometimes you have to smack them hard enough they aren't getting back up again. I hate it when I have to do that, though. Always feels like I failed somehow."

"You are strange," Ritsuko declared.

"Just strange?" Fred asked, grinning at her. "Not disturbing?"

"Yes," Ritsuko said, rolling her eyes. "You are definitely disturbing."

"Good!" Fred said, and laughed. "You want to see if they're ready for tea yet?"

"They know where the kitchen is," Ritsuko said. "I'm still trying to figure you out."

"Sorry," Fred said, smiling and shrugging. "Of all the people I've ever known, Rei is the only one who's even come close to figuring me out. I'm pretty sure that's because she's not human, although it could be because she and I are bonded."

" _Are_ bonded?" Ritsuko asked, giving Fred a suspicious look.

"Yup," Fred said, tapping his temple with a fingertip. "She's as close to me as my thoughts." He looked into the distance, smiling. _"Sweetheart? Are your things ready for tomorrow?"_

_"I am ready,"_ Rei answered. _"I have been listening to Shinji talk about his mother while waiting for you to call me."_

_"I'm making a pot of genmaicha,"_ Fred said, _"So you can bring him down whenever you like. I think Ritsuko has wrung everything out of me that she's going to."_

_"She believes she is good at interrogation,"_ Rei said. _"Perhaps she is, with an ordinary person."_

_"Which does not apply to either of us,"_ Fred chuckled. Ritsuko gave Fred a worried look. "Oh, don't worry, Ritsuko. Rei and I were just laughing about how neither of us could be considered ordinary."

"I can't argue with that," Ritsuko said.

Rei opened the door, with Shinji standing behind her. Rei walked in and wrapped her arms around Fred, rested her head on his chest, and sighed happily. Shinji saw Ritsuko and froze, glancing back up the hallway.

"Relax," Ritsuko said. "We're off duty here. MacManus-san has made tea for us all, so why not come in and enjoy it?"

"I, uh, don't want to mess things up," Shinji said uncertainly.

"The best way to do that," Rei said, "is to relax and act in accordance with your nature. If you do that, you will act rightly."

"Says the girl who's pressing against Sensei like a cat," Shinji muttered.

"Here," Fred said, as he poured tea for everyone, his arms reaching around Rei at apparently-impossible angles. "Tea for everyone. Now, let's just sit and relax, shall we? Ritsuko, can you think of anything else you want to know before trusting me with Shinji?"

"What do you know about …," Ritsuko started, then snorted, shaking her head. "What am I saying? With all the children you have, if you don't know how to manage a family, you're in more trouble than I can account for."

"No need to worry," Fred said. "Rei and Shinji do get paychecks, right?"

"I, uh, never asked," Ritsuko said, blushing. "It wasn't in my department."

"They do," Edgar said. "All we need to do is make sure Gendo makes the changes when we talk to him tomorrow. They also get a housing and subsistence allowance."

"Good," Fred said. "Rei, Shinji, I'll need you to make up lists of the kinds of foods you prefer, so we can get something edible when we go shopping."

"I don't eat meat," Rei said softly, taking advantage of Fred's seated position to settle into his lap.

"All right, then," Fred said. "One herbivore, one piscivore, and one omnivore. How about you, Shinji?"

"One piscivore?" Ritsuko asked. Pen-Pen poked his head out of his freezer and squawked at her. "Oh! I'd forgotten. Sorry, Pen-Pen."

"You need me to make up a list?" Shinji asked, looking surprised. "I, uh, no one's ever asked what I like before. I'm used to eating whatever is available. Just, please, no more noodle bowls? If I never see another bowl of instant noodles, it'll be too soon."

"No problem," Fred said. "When I have noodles, I prefer to make them from scratch. Do you eat meat, or do you prefer to pass, too?"

"I'll eat meat when it's there," Shinji said. "It's just not usually affordable."

"That depends on how you shop," Fred chuckled. "Since there's going to be a lot of small fish in the freezer, there's going to be a lot of fish in most of what I cook. Don't worry, Rei, I know vegetarian recipes, too. I'm told I make a pretty good stuffed zucchini, for instance. Oh, strictly vegetarian, or just no meat?"

"I prefer to avoid meat," Rei said, "but otherwise do not have any real restrictions."

"In that case, we're good," Fred said. "Ever had alfredo?"

"Alfredo?" Rei asked. "Would that not be cannibalism?"

"Only if we were made of cheese," Fred said, grinning as he noticed Rei's far-too-bland expression, and Shinji's slightly greenish one. He chuckled and kissed Rei's temple. _"You just wanted to see him turn green!"_

_"You must admit,"_ Rei replied, _"he does an admirable job of responding to the slightest of stimuli."_

_"Active observational techniques, love?"_ Fred asked, while trying to conceal his amusement from Ritsuko and Shinji. _"You and the getta would get along admirably. They enjoy poking humans to see how they respond, too."_

_"It_ is _fun,"_ Rei admitted, looking up at Fred, far too innocently.

"Being around those two is going to leave me always wondering what they're talking about behind our backs," Ritsuko muttered. Fred and Rei both smiled at her with innocent expressions.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"Sorry," Fred said. "I'm so used to telepathic communication that I frequently slip into talking with friends mentally. I was rude. I apologize."

"I apologize as well," Rei said. "I am so happy to feel Master inside me," Ritsuko choked on her tea and began coughing frantically, while Shinji pounded on her back, "that I find it easier to speak with him in my mind than to verbalize. I do not intend to leave you out, and I apologize for doing so."

"That's … all right," Ritsuko coughed. "There are some situations where leaving others out is perfectly appropriate."

Rei looked up at Fred and asked, her eyes wide and her expression one of overdone innocence, "Was it something I said?"

"I should make sure I have my school stuff ready," Shinji said. "I can get started on that list of foods, too."

"I should do the same," Rei said. She looked at Fred and thought, _"And apologize to Shinji for discomfiting him. I had only intended to disturb Ritsuko. It seems I overdid it."_

_"He's of an age where open displays of affection will discomfit him regardless of the words used,"_ Fred said. _"Hopefully Langley's arrival will help with that."_

_"Hopefully,"_ Rei agreed. She turned and bowed to Ritsuko. "Thank you for helping Shinji move, Akagi-san. I appreciate the opportunity to help ease your mind regarding Master's intentions toward me."

"Somehow, I don't think it's _his_ intentions I have to worry about," Ritsuko muttered, as she rose to return Rei's bow. "Remember, both of you, there is training tomorrow after school."

"We will be there," Rei said.

"I won't forget, Akagi-sensei," Shinji said.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fred refuses Rei, and begins playing games with SEELE's bugs.

Ritsuko left not long after Rei and Shinji had departed, giving Fred a chance to clean up the kitchen before retiring as well. He settled into the middle of the bed in the room he had chosen as his own, and prepared to begin his nightly net-diving, when he heard the bedroom door slide open, and then closed, as Rei slipped in, moving under the cover of the darkness. He waited, silent, to see what she had in mind.

_"I know you are awake, Master,"_ Rei thought.  _"Why are you pretending to be asleep?"_

"I'm waiting to see what you have in mind, love," Fred said softly. "Whatever happens, I intend for it to be as you choose."

"Why, Master?" Rei asked. "You know this is what is intended. Why resist it?"

"I wouldn't say I'm resisting," Fred said, chuckling softly, "so much as making it very, very clear that as far as I'm concerned, regardless of what the magic may do or intend, your free will is still extremely important to me."

"That is why I know I am safe in your hands," Rei said. "You will not take away my individuality or humanity, just as I am beginning to learn both."

"No," Fred said, "I won't. You mean too much to me."

"I can feel that you have no hesitation," Rei said. "That is as self-evident to you as the color of my hair or the sound of my voice. We have only known each other for two days, yet you have no hesitation, just as you had no hesitation in touching my mind. Why is that?"

"Either it was a mistake or it wasn't," Fred said, "and I wasn't going to find out by hesitating. Now that I have touched your mind, the woman I know, regardless of which name she uses, is as important to me as my self. As you probably gleaned from touching my mind, when I bond myself to someone, I don't hold back. To me, the bond is total, without hesitation or reservation. Once I decided you were the woman I was going to bond to, that was the only way it could be."

"You have held back in one area, though, Master," Rei said. "Why?"

"You may be mature in mind and soul," Fred said, "but your body is still only 14. I know that means you are legally able to do what you're asking, but I'm worried about hurting you."

"That is why I know I can trust you," Rei said, "and why you are the only one I would allow, or want, to do this for me."

"Come here," Fred said gently, holding out his arms. He heard the sound of fabric hitting the floor, and then felt Rei curl up against him, as naked as the day she was decanted.

With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and began gently stroking her skin, focusing only on giving her pleasure and relaxation. Soon, Rei burrowed into his chest and nuzzled against him, and her breathing slowed and steadied.

_"She's sleeping, Dad,"_ Edgar said.  _"I think if you lay her down, though, she'll wake up."_

_"I think I agree with you,"_ Fred said. _"So I'll hold her. We'll wake her up five minutes before Shinji's alarm."_

Fred held Rei through the night, while his mind was busy exploring NERV and SEELE databases. Five minutes before it was time to wake Rei, he opened his eyes and looked down, to find her looking up at him.

"You did not take advantage of me, Master," Rei said softly. "Is this disappointment I feel?"

"That would have been wrong," Fred said. "But holding you while you slept was not wrong."

"I like being held," Rei said. "Now I am going to have to get dressed. Why would it have been wrong to take what I offered?"

"I'm still not certain you understand what it is you're offering, love," Fred said gently. "If I'm wrong, then I've only delayed us a short time, but if I"m right, it gives us more time to explore and learn together what it is you're offering."

"This is the emotional aspect of mating that you refer to?" Rei asked.

"Yes," Fred said. "I know it's hard to imagine now, but I'm asking you to believe me when I tell you that it's far more involved than the physical aspect. And when it's approached properly, is far more rewarding."

"You are my Master," Rei said. "Does that not implicitly involve trust?"

"Yes," Fred said. "Implicitly and explicitly. But if I am your Master, what are you? You have yet to say how you see yourself."

Rei looked up at Fred for over a minute. He could feel the effort she was putting into analyzing the question, but did not pry into her thoughts, instead choosing to let her express them at her own speed, in her own way.

"I am not your slave," Rei said finally. "You love me too much for that. Yes, I can feel that despite your claims otherwise, you already love me, as I love you. How does Hokuto see herself?"

"She is my pet," Fred said. "My treasured, beloved pet."

"That sounds perfect," Rei said. "I am your pet, just as Hokuto is. What kind of pet do you desire?"

"The kind who curls up in her Master's lap for cuddles whenever she feels in need, for whatever reason," Fred said. "The kind who tells her Master when she needs his touch, and doesn't try to pretend she doesn't need it. The kind who is not afraid to come to her Master for any form of love, affection, or touch that she needs or desires, who knows that her Master loves her enough to answer honest needs, so she doesn't try to sneak in on him or pretend she wants one thing as an excuse to get something else." He cupped Rei's chin and looked into her eyes. "I want the kind of pet who is totally open to her Master, with her wants, her needs, and her desires."

Rei looked back at Fred, her eyes unblinking, and he suddenly felt her, pouring out her need to become one with him, to feel him love her and fill her both emotionally and physically, and her desire to experience all of the things she had read about while researching. He felt her curiosity and the awakening of her body, and above all else, he felt her desire to be possessed by him, body and soul.

"Is that what you truly want, Rei?" Fred asked, when he surfaced again. "That's far more than merely being my pet, you realize."

"What is it, then?" Rei asked.

"Explaining would take more than the few minutes you have this morning," Fred said. "We can talk about it tonight, or when you're not involved in your classes. Normally, I wouldn't suggest that, but I already know you're so far ahead of the others in your school that you're only going there for the experience in dealing with humans of your apparent age."

"The Commander said it would be good for me to socialize with the other pilots," Rei said. "He said I would be better able to perform my duties if I connect to them as individuals, so I know what their responses are more likely to be under stress."

"He's right," Fred said. "In addition, if you connect to them as individuals, you will find other benefits, in addition to understanding their likely responses."

"What kind of benefits?" Rei asked.

"A number of benefits," Fred said, "which we can discuss once you're safely at school. How much time do you have left to dress and get something to eat?"

"Not enough," Rei said. "I shall have to choose one or the other." She looked up at Fred with a playful gleam in her eyes. "Perhaps I should eat, and forgo dressing?"

Fred laughed, lifted Rei to her feet, and swatted her lightly on the butt. "I don't think so, pet. Your classmates aren't allowed to see what I'm seeing right now. That's strictly my privilege as your Master."

"You do realize I have to change for gym class," Rei said. "My female classmates have already seen what you are seeing."

"You have a point," Fred said, then chuckled. "All right, your male classmates aren't allowed to see what I'm seeing. Better?"

"More rational," Rei said. She stopped at the bedroom door, looked back, and said, "Master? When you struck me like that, it felt good. I felt something inside me that I am unsure of how to explain, but it is similar to what I feel when I imagine submitting to your will."

"We can talk about that later, too, pet," Fred said. "Now, go get dressed."

"Yes, Master," Rei said, then smiled and vanished down the hallway.

_"She's going to be a handful,"_ Edgar commented. _"Maybe more than Hokuto."_

"I know," Fred groaned, smiling. "And without any preconceived notions, either, just like Hokuto."

 

In the kitchen, Shinji was putting the finishing touches on two bento. On the table sat the rice cooker he had taken the rice from, along with some miso and broiled fish. Fred paused in the door to look over the tableau.

"Thank you, Sensei," Shinji said quietly, without looking up from rolling rice balls.

"You're welcome, I guess," Fred said, confused. "Uh, for what?"

"For keeping the noise down last night," Shinji said. "Misato never even tried."

"For keeping the …," Fred started, then groaned. "Misato never even tried? Gah. No wonder you assumed that Rei and I were doing more than just sitting. Do you enjoy cooking, or is it just something you do because it's needed?"

"I enjoy it," Shinji said. "I feel as if I'm creating something, and if I cook for other people, I feel more connected."

"I know what you mean," Fred said. "Tell you what. You tell me what you need for making lunches, and I'll try to make sure that when I fix dinner, I include something that can be used for lunches the next day. That way, when you're fixing the boxes, you have what you need."

"That would make things easier," Shinji said. "Thank you."

"By the way," Fred said, "I know it's probably hard to believe, but the reason it was quiet last night was because nothing happened."

"I saw her sneak into your room," Shinji said.

"But what you didn't see," Fred said, "was me hold her in my lap until she fell asleep. She needs people to care for her because she's a good person, because they like her company, because they want to see her smile. She doesn't need someone taking advantage of her because he's older and more experienced than she is."

"But she's already declared that you are her mate," Shinji said. "I heard her say that yesterday."

"And I am," Fred said. "But part of being her mate means, to me at least, being responsible for not hurting her by demanding things of her that she doesn't yet understand. She wants what you assumed we were doing, but I don't want to hurt her. So she didn't get it last night."

"I think I see," Shinji said. "I think maybe I should thank you on her behalf as well, then. I think I see why Gendo assigned us to you."

"The Commander would not have been able to take me away from Master," Rei said. "He bowed to the inevitable and joined you with us. I am sorry you were moved without consulting you. Unfortunately, we can not know how long Katsuragi-san will be in the hospital, and the Commander very likely did not want to leave you alone for that unknown time." She crossed the room to the table, studied the bentos, then studied Shinji. "You remembered. Thank you."

"It's easy enough to make a lunch," Shinji said, "that it would be a waste to not make what you prefer. I'm glad you like it. I hope you enjoy it when it's time to eat."

"Would you like to eat lunch with me?" Rei asked.

Shinji stared at Rei, then at Fred, who simply smiled and nodded, then back at Rei again.

"You … want to eat lunch with me?" Shinji asked uncertainly.

"I do," Rei said. "Assuming, of course, that your new friends do not insist on you eating with them."

"My new friends?" Shinji asked, confused.

"Suzuhara-kun and Aida-kun," Rei said.

"How much time, Edgar?" Fred asked.

"Twenty minutes for all of us," Edgar said.

"Plenty of time to eat, then," Fred said. "Rei, Shinji made miso and rice for you, and fish and rice for him and me. There is time to eat, so sit and enjoy your breakfast."

"Yes, Master," Rei said, as she sat and accepted the bowl of miso Shinji pushed her way.

Fred sat beside her and took one of the fish, shook out some furikake over his rice, and passed the jar to Rei, who studied it for a moment, then copied Fred's action before tasting her rice.

"Is rice … supposed to have flavor?" Rei asked, after tasting her rice with furikake.

"That's the idea, pet," Fred said lovingly. "Rice itself is very bland, but if you wrap it in nori the way Shinji did, or sprinkle it with furikake or … Edgar, remind me to get some fish sauce and sriracha … anyway, there's lots of ways to flavor it. We should find a rice bowl place sometime so you can try some of the ways it can be prepared. Have you ever had Buddha's Delight?"

"It's very good," Shinji said. "I'll be sure to include the ingredients when I give you my list."

"Thank you," Fred said. "I enjoy it, too. If Rei enjoys it, then we'll have a vegetarian recipe all three of us can enjoy together."

"I would like that," Rei said. "I wish to get to know you better, Shinji. The Commander and Master have both told me that it is important for me to become close to you, both as a pilot and as a friend. I find that knowing Master as a friend, even if he has not taken that which he is entitled to as my Master, fulfills me in ways that I would not have imagined possible before. I would like to discover if becoming your friend is similarly fulfilling."

"You have never had friends?" Shinji asked. When Rei nodded, he rose to his feet, bowed to her and said, in a voice that surprised Fred with its gentleness, "I would be honored to be considered your friend, Rei-chan."

"Thank you, Shinji-kun," Rei said. "It will take some time for me to learn all there is to know about being a friend, but I believe that with your help and Master's, I will be successful."

"I'd like that," Shinji said. He blushed as he looked at Rei, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and returned to eating his fish and rice.

Once everyone had finished eating, and put their dishes in the dishwasher, Fred said, "I'm afraid you're likely to have a bit of a headache for a little while. I'm sending you back to five minutes before the bell rings, so that you have time to make it up to your classroom. Don't forget your lunches, and let me know when you have your shoes on."

Rei and Shinji grabbed their boxes and laptops, then scrambled for the entry so they could put their shoes on. When Rei called out "Ready", Fred teleported them both to the school's entry, five minutes before class started. Once they were gone, and he was certain everything was cleaned up and the apartment door was locked, he teleported to the hall outside Gendo's office at 7:59:30, waited until 7:59:59, and knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Gendo called.

Fred entered the office, crossed the floor while making a mental note of the symbols engraved under the finish, and stood at parade rest across the desk from Gendo.

"You realize," Gendo said, "if not for what you did for Yui, I would be hard-pressed to not justify having you taken out and shot."

Fred studied Gendo for a moment, then nodded, holding up a hand.

_"Edgar? How many bugs are in here?"_ Fred thought.

_"Gendo's already disabled his own,"_ Edgar answered,  _"so I'm picking up a dozen. Seems like each member of SEELE has his or her own personal bug, like they don't trust each other any more than they trust the rest of the world."_

_"Give them something fun to listen to,"_ Fred said.  _"I suggest … hmm … Amos 'n' Andy?"_

_"I like that,"_ Edgar chuckled.  _"Just a moment … there. All set."_ He spoke aloud. "We can speak freely now."

"Thank you, Edgar," Gendo said. "Unfortunately, there's no hiding Yui from them, so it's not as much of a risk to use her name. But we can still try to keep the rest of our actions hidden."

"We'll see how long it is before they try to send in someone to replace their bugs," Fred said. "For now, they're hearing old radio programs."

"Appropriate," Gendo said. "Yui told me how you made it possible for her to speak with Shinji. Thank you. I know I've failed him, so I'm asking you to do for him what I failed to do."

"Treat him like a responsible human being?" Fred asked. "Don't worry. I do that to everyone who hasn't proven otherwise. I think you'll find he's someone you can be proud of, if you let yourself feel it."

"I am proud of him," Gendo said. "I'm not sure how well he would believe it, coming from me, though."

"Probably better than you'd believe," Fred said. "I should warn you, I have friends who may try to arrive in this world by way of your office. Your collection of books is better than the Vatican's, which is where they usually make the transition."

"Is there any way you can redirect them?" Gendo asked. "They could arrive during ... delicate discussions, which would be unfortunate for everyone concerned."

"I've asked one of my children to bring them," Fred said, "which will be less stress for everyone involved. Except anyone who's monitoring your radar systems, anyway."

"Why would that be?" Gendo asked.

"My daughter Amelia is a 100-ton light freighter," Fred said. "She likes to get involved in any of my extracurricular activities, so I let her bring family over whenever possible."

"Your daughter pilots a freighter?" Gendo asked, shaking his head. "Why would this – ?"

"No," Fred cut in, laughing. "My daughter doesn't  _pilot_ the freighter, my daughter  _is_ the freighter. Allow me to show you Amelia MacManus. Edgar?"

An image appeared above Gendo's table of a flattened ovoid spaceship, with a raised section at the narrow end of the oval, where cockpit windows appeared. The cockpit had seats for five, including pilot and copilot. At the rear focus, on both top and bottom, a turret with a quad-barrel cannon was mounted, while ports for missiles were visible below the cockpit, above the loading ramp. The broad curve at the rear contained an arc of thrusters, with steerable flat nozzles, the thickness of the ship's edge.

"This is Amelia," Fred said. "She has a cargo capacity of about one hundred tons, or a passenger capacity of twelve, if half of them don't mind setting up in her cargo hold. Normally she can carry a half-dozen passengers along with her cargo. It comes in handy when she wants people to manage her turrets so she can concentrate on helping the pilot drive pirates insane."

"Is she an AI?" Gendo asked.

"Oh, frak," Fred groaned. "You just  _had_ to ask, didn't you?"

"I'm cutting him slack, Dad," Edgar said. "He's still dealing with the idea of Yui being alive. He's used to dealing with the Magi, who  _are_ artificially intelligent. The idea of computers being just as alive as Yui is probably more than his brain can handle right now."

"Just as alive as Yui?" Gendo asked. "You mean that ship has a soul?"

"Just like me," Edgar said. "Ask Rei. She can sense souls, you know. For that matter, I'm pretty sure that with the proper training, any of the pilots could. That … AT Field … as you call it, is a lot more useful than just as defense or weapon."

"Interesting," Gendo mused. "Very interesting. That could be very useful."

"Quite," Fred said. "Speaking of useful, where's Fuyutsuki?"

"Believe it or not," Gendo said, "He is more than just my shadow. However, it is … useful … for SEELE to believe that is all he is."

"Works for me," Fred said. "The more they underestimate us, the easier it will be when they finally make their move."

"So you assume they will ultimately take off the gloves as well?" Gendo asked.

"In a way, I'm counting on it," Fred said. "If they're foolish enough to try attacking us, then they'll be playing into our hands. If they sit back and wait, they'll be sitting atop their emplaced assets, which will make it much harder to defeat them."

"We're going to have to find a way to lure them to us, without doing it before we're ready," Gendo said. "Even your new weapons will have to work toward that goal."

"I agree," Fred said. "I'm going to have to analyze one of your non-nuclear bombs so I can work out how large I can make my missiles without exceeding their power."

"I can get you some," Gendo said. "Ritsuko has access to most of those weapons within our facility."

"Good," Fred said. "Do you need anything special from me, or should I focus on making sure the kids are ready and able to do their parts?"

"That should be your primary focus," Gendo said. "I have a strong suspicion that you aren't as suited to playing the political game as Fuyutsuki and I have had to become."

"Your suspicion is dead on the money," Fred said. "I play politics with meteors and particle beams."

"Mom would be rolling on the floor, you realize," Edgar laughed.

"Good thing she's not here, then," Fred said. "I wouldn't want her to get her lab coat dirty."

"You play politics with meteors and particle beams," Gendo repeated, then shook his head. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You don't strike me as particularly subtle."

"I can be subtle," Fred said, with a maniacal smile. "That's anything under a megaton, right?"

"I believe," Gendo groaned, "that is the definition of tact, not subtlety."

"Six of one, half dozen of the other," Fred laughed. "So, you want me to get to work right away?"

"As soon as Dr. Akagi is convinced you are capable," Gendo said. "Just a moment."

Gendo picked up his telephone's handset and spoke into it briefly, while Fred pretended to not listen. After he set it back down, he nodded toward the door. A moment later, the door opened and Ritsuko walked in.

"He's all yours," Gendo said, gesturing toward Fred. "Try to not overdo it, please."

"Overdo it," Fred mused, then gave Gendo a curious, innocent look. "Is there such a thing?"

"He's all yours," Gendo repeated.

"I'll remember this," Ritsuko said, "the next time you comment on my department's efficiency."

"Don't worry, Rit-chan," Fred said, as he flowed to his feet. "I won't mess up the department's efficiency. Too much."

"Rit-chan?" Ritsuko growled, an eyebrow twitching. _"Rit-chan?"_

Fred grinned at her as he ambled toward the door. "Gotta get off on the right foot, right?"

"Or get it chopped off," Ritsuko growled. She followed Fred out the door, grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him against the nearest wall.

"All right, what's with the Rit-chan?" Ritsuko growled.

Fred glanced toward Gendo's office, then answered softly, "Keeps him on his toes. Sorry about that, Akagi-san, but I'm trying to give him the impression that I'm so Mad, I can't even remember who's in charge of the laboratory."

"Why?" Ritsuko asked, staring at Fred in disbelief.

"Keeps him from getting the idea he can predict what I'm going to do," Fred said. "Less chance of him trying to manipulate me or the kids that way, since he can never be sure whether I'll go along with it, or drop a meteor on his office."

"There's … a strange kind of logic to that," Ritsuko admitted. "All right, just … try to keep it from getting too out of hand, OK?"

"Gotcha," Fred said softly. "Let's get to work, eh?"

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fred drops a bombshell on Maya and Ritsuko.
> 
> Rei meets the family, and discovers that she doesn't need sex to experience the bond she wants.

The morning passed fairly quickly. By the time Ritsuko had finished showing Fred where everything he would need to work with was located, it was time for lunch. Fred followed Ritsuko to the cafeteria, where the first thing he noticed was blue Jello. By the time he finished laughing, Ritsuko had guided him into the serving line, where he grabbed a bowl of jello, along with a couple other random items and four cups of coffee.

"Four?" Ritsuko asked, as they found a place to sit.

Across the cafeteria, a young woman with short brown hair stood and waved, calling out, "Akagi-sensei!"

"Maya, I take it?" Fred asked softly.

"I'm afraid so," Ritsuko answered quietly.

"Figured out how to handle her yet?" Fred asked.

"I'm still coping with the idea that she's in love with me," Ritsuko said. "I … damn. She's like a puppy, you know? I can't just tell her I'm not interested, especially when I'm still trying to deal with learning that _she_ is."

"So you're not _disinterested_ ," Fred said. "You're just gobsmacked. She _is_ cute. Is she smart, too?"

"As a whip," Ritsuko said. "Efficient, too. But so very tenderhearted, it actually makes me sad to see her reactions when Shinji's out there fighting."

"The kind of person who should never be exposed to the bloody side of things, eh?" Fred asked, while studying Maya sympathetically.

"Definitely," Ritsuko said, while leading Fred toward Maya's table. "I've started slipping airsick bags into her desk, just in case."

"Poor girl," Fred said softly. "I may have to break out my shovel, just in case."

"Your shovel?" Ritsuko asked, giving Fred a confused look.

"Yeah," Fred said, giving Ritsuko a warning look. "The shovel I'll use to beat you about the head and shoulders if you break her heart."

"If I hadn't just spent an entire morning with you," Ritsuko said, "I'd believe you were being serious."

"If?" Fred asked, "What makes you think I'm not serious?"

"I'm your superior," Ritsuko said. "The penalties for threatening, let alone striking, a superior...." She left it hanging there.

"Oh, you're not my superior," Fred laughed. "You're just my supervisor. Big difference. _No one_ is your superior unless you submit to them, and then it's not anything inherent that makes them your superior, it's your submission."

_"That is why you are my superior, Master,"_ Rei's voice suddenly interjected. _"I choose to make you so."_

_"I wondered when you'd poke in,"_ Fred thought back happily. _"You were very quiet this morning."_

_"I did not wish to interrupt Akagi-sensei's orientation,"_ Rei said. _"It is useful to know what she considers important."_

_"I agree,"_ Fred thought. _"It's also useful to know what surprises her. Like Maya's forwardness here, for instance."_

_"That surprises me, as well,"_ Rei thought. _"Ibuki-san is usually much more shy."_

"So, you're the new person working for Akagi-sensei, huh?" Maya asked. "What do you do?"

"Based on her expression," Fred laughed, "I'd have to say I annoy the Hell out of her. Seriously, though, I'm a specialist in robotics and cybernetics."

"He's doing this just to drive me insane," Ritsuko grumbled.

Maya glared at Fred, who set his tray down, then raised his hands as if to signify surrender.

"Trust me," Fred said, "I'm not trying to do anything. I just seem to have this way of annoying the hell out of anyone in authority. Gendo would have already had me shot if he didn't need my talents. Unfortunately for Dr. Akagi, she's my direct supervisor. All I'm interested in is making sure the Evas work properly, and the kids are at their best when piloting them. Everything else is secondary. Or tertiary. Or not even on the table. Well, except when it's an unintended consequence of something I'm trying to do, but I've got a friend coming who should be able to fix the Drunk. It'll just take her a few days to get here."

"The Dr … you!" Maya gasped. "You … Akagi-sensei! Why is this … this … Why isn't he in the brig?"

"He was," Ritsuko said, shrugging. "The Commander decided he was more useful working for me."

"Oh, Akagi-sensei!" Maya said, "That's so cruel!"

"I know," Fred said, grinning. "She's going to need the help of someone who truly cares for her in order to keep her sanity with me around her. Do you know anyone who qualifies?"

"Do I know anyone who qualifies?" Maya mused, seriously considering Fred's question for the few moments it took her to notice his shameless grin. She turned a brilliant crimson and began sputtering incoherently, suddenly looking anywhere other than at Ritsuko, who sighed, glared at Fred, then reached for Maya's hand.

"Ibuki-chan," Ritsuko said, as gently as someone unused to gentleness could manage. "I'm not blind, you know. I'm just trying to work out how I feel."

"I'm sorry, Akagi-sensei," Maya said miserably, "I know I shouldn't – "

"She didn't say she doesn't want you," Fred said. "She said she needs time to figure out if she does. It seems to me that if a girl were in love with her, that would be a hopeful sign. That would be a sign that the girl who's in love with her has a chance of that love being returned, as long as she gives some time and space to work it out." He leaned toward Maya, lowered his voice, and said, "In other words, you don't have to worship her from afar any more. Just give her time to decide if she loves you the way you love her. That sounds to me like you're closer to winning her heart than you were yesterday, don't you think?"

Maya stared at Fred for a minute while she took his words in. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then looked at Ritsuko, who was studiously applying herself to her lunch, doing her best to pretend she wasn't hearing Fred.

"Blue Jello," Fred commented. "What is it about secret military organizations and blue Jello in their cafeterias? Oh well, I know how to improve it."

"Not at the table," Ritsuko said, without looking up from her tray. "The rest of us would like to be able to finish our meals." She looked up at Maya and said, "As much as I'd like to strangle him for the way he just threw that out there for us to deal with, it is out there now, and we have to decide what we're going to do about it."

"I'm sorry, Sensei," Maya said, looking down at her tray. "I know I don't have any right – "

"Shhh," Ritsuko shushed Maya. "Emotions aren't about whether you have a right or not. They simply are. The question that's in my mind is, are your feelings just emotional, or are they a part of your whole being?"

"I don't understand, Sensei," Maya said. "You really don't mind that I … I mean …." She trailed off, her face reddening again, and looked down at her tray.

"Maya," Ritsuko said gently, surprising Maya with her informality, "I didn't even know until now how you feel. If anyone should be bothered, it should be the girl whose love wasn't just ignored, but wasn't even recognized."

"But, sempai!" Maya protested. "You have important work to do!"

"Says the girl who single-handedly runs the control center," Ritsuko chuckled. "Don't try to deny it. I've seen you in action."

"People are counting on me," Maya said softly, looking down at her lunch.

"That's why I do what I do," Ritsuko said. "That's still no excuse for me not noticing you."

Fred quietly slipped away, radiating an aura of "somebody else's problem" as he did, so as to not disturb the two.

 

"What is this dish?" Rei asked as she studied her dinner. It looked like cubes of squash in a light brown sauce, served over a bed of rice.

"Squash curry," Fred said as he served himself a plate. "I picked up a taste for it from a Thai chef I knew a few years back. Nice thing about Thai curries, like this one, is that they use coconut milk as part of the base. Makes the sauce creamy and smooth, without being overwhelming."

"Curry," Shinji groaned.

Pen-Pen stuck his head out of his cooler, grabbed his plate of fish, and retreated.

"Problems?" Fred asked.

"Ever had to live on a diet of cup noodles with instant curry?" Shinji asked.

"Sounds revolting," Fred said.

"It is," Shinji agreed.

"Try this," Fred said, setting the pan of curry down so Shinji could reach it, while picking up a bowl with layers of sliced beef and greens of some kind in it. "It's a nice complement to this. This is a spicy salad, and that helps put the fire out, but without the shock of putting it out abruptly. Goes really good with bubble tea."

"What is bubble tea?" Rei asked, when Shinji appeared to be too involved in dubiously studying his meal to ask himself.

"It's a kind of iced tea that's sweetened and flavored with tapioca," Fred said. "Perfect for this climate. And it goes very nicely with spicy foods. Nice thing about nam tok is that it's lots easier to eat with chopsticks than any variety of laab."

"It's real food," Shinji said softly, then looked up. "You actually made real food!"

"That's right," Fred said. "Cup noodles are only suited for people who don't have a kitchen, like college students. If you have a kitchen, you should have real food."

Rei took a taste of her squash, chewed it thoughtfully, then looked up with a surprised expression. "This is spicy, sweet, and creamy, all at the same time. How did you do that?"

"It's actually fairly easy," Fred said, chuckling. "I'm willing to bet that Shinji can do something similar without any effort at all. Mostly it just involves simmering the squash in the sauce until you get the texture you want."

"Sensei is right," Shinji said. He took a taste of the squash and nodded. "Yes, this is something that I think I could do. Are you sure this is curry? It tastes good!"

"I'm positive," Fred said, laughing. "A red curry, in fact. Green curries are tangier."

"Red? Green?" Shinji asked, looking at Fred, confused. "Curry is brown … well, maybe yellow, if you stretch it, but usually it's kind of an indiscriminate brown."

"The Japanese interpretation of Indian curry," Fred said, shaking his head. "And not even a particularly good Indian curry, either, most likely. There are as many curries as there are cooks, but they all fall into three or four basic styles. Red curries are made with ripe peppers. Green curries are made with green peppers. Yellow curries are made with lots of turmeric, and usually get their spice from black pepper or mustard. The neat thing about red and green curries is that they can be made with or without coconut milk, depending on how sweet and creamy you want the sauce."

"I am certain that I will want more of this," Rei said. "It is pleasurable."

"Already noted," Edgar said. "I'm curious. Is your aversion to meat due to ethical concerns, taste, lack of knowledge or experience in preparing it, or frugality?"

"I do not know how to prepare it safely," Rei said. "So I have never developed a taste for it."

"Is that all?" Fred asked, smiling warmly at her. "That's something you'll have plenty of opportunity for, then, love. I'm not sure this is the best way to get started, unless you enjoy spicy food, that is."

"I do not know," Rei said. "I am still trying to understand the idea of flavor. What I have experienced so far is enjoyable, but I do not understand why."

"In the simplest terms," Fred said, "flavors are a guide to healthy eating. When something in its natural state has a flavor you enjoy, that is usually a guide that it's something that your body requires for adequate nutrition. Once a good cook gets done with it, of course, the flavor is more a guide of how good the cook is, but it's still useful for helping you find foods that are healthy for you."

"If that is so, why do so many humans eat in ways that are bad for them?" Rei asked.

"Mostly it's due to bad training in childhood," Fred said. "If a person finds a food they enjoy, but are either punished for eating it, or are restricted from access to it, they will naturally respond when they have access by eating it in quantities that are unhealthy. Candy is a good example of that. Sugar is a vital nutrient, that provides energy to the body the way the power cables provide energy to your Eva. Unfortunately, too much sugar is bad for your body, just like too much unfiltered power would be bad for your Eva. The response of authorities has always been to try to artificially restrict the supply of sugar, either by punishing children for being caught eating it, or by treating it as some kind of immoral or unhealthy indulgence. So, naturally, when children get their hands on it, they respond by devouring it before anyone can catch them with it. On the other hand, if you treat it as just another food, children grow up eating it the same way they would any other food. My kids, for instance, are more interested in the chocolate or caffeine content of their candy than in the sugar, so rather than gorging on whatever candies they happen to find, they're picky about what they eat, and only eat as much as they enjoy."

"You enjoy teaching, Master," Rei declared.

"Maybe," Fred laughed, "but I'm usually pretty bad at it."

"I don't think so," Shinji said. "When you were teaching our class, it was obvious you were enjoying yourself, and the people who were prepared for what you were teaching were enjoying school for the first time I had seen since I started attending this one."

"You respond to the opportunity to impart knowledge," Rei said, "as you described children responding to the availability of candy. How often have you been denied that opportunity, Master?"

"Far too often," Fred sighed. "Most every world I go to, I have to either restrict what I teach to a select few, or hide the ones I'm teaching, or both, because the local authorities are either not worthy of being trusted with what I'm teaching, or they'll try to punish my students in some way – usually fatal. Being able to just sit like this and explain something is … far too rare."

"Don't you get the chance to do this when you're at home?" Shinji asked.

"I do," Fred said, a smile lighting up his face. "I have a select class at one of the high schools back home, made up of kids who have the Spark. They pretty much hated school until I came along, because the other teachers tried to fit them into boxes that weren't designed for people with the Spark. On the other hand, I challenge them to explore and expand, and they respond like Rei did when I introduced my new lessons on that one day in class."

"I enjoyed that, Master," Rei said. "It was challenging and interesting, and it tested my ability to analyze reality in ways that do not conform to established dogma."

"That's not so surprising," Fred said. "You have the Spark."

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

Fred paused and considered for a moment before answering. "The simplest answer is that the Spark is a special bond to the universe. And yes, I know that doesn't really tell you anything, so … " He trailed off for a moment, gazing into the distance, before continuing. "Have you ever had that feeling, when you're reading one of your genetics books, or listening to one of your teachers droning on, that if you were just given access to the right tools, you could solve that problem they tell you is impossible, or correct that annoying little error in a particular species' genetic code?"

"Yes," Rei said, while Shinji looked at the two as if they were mad.

"That's not the Spark itself, but a sign of its existence," Fred said. "The Spark is what makes it possible for you to do those things, and to do them in ways that someone like Ritsuko would consider scientifically impossible. They're not, of course, but someone without the Spark is unable to duplicate your results, so they assume you got them by some form of fraud. The reason you can succeed where they fail is the Spark. That bond to the universe allows you to bend it to your will in ways that a mundane scientist is unable to, because they're on the outside looking in, while you're inside, entangled in the essence of the universe. Each of us sees it differently, of course. When I'm working, for instance, I see the base operating code. My best friend is a genetic engineer, so he sees the genetic code. A friend from another world hears music, and knows how to change the tune to make what she wants. At the age of my students, most Mads don't yet understand their Spark, so they're bombarded with sensations they have to learn how to manage, while at the same time negotiating puberty. Not a fun scenario, for anyone."

"What are you talking about?" Shinji asked. "It sounds like magic!"

"In a way," Fred said, "it is. Mads can't exist in universes where the ambient mana is too low. Even if you have the Spark, and I've met people in those universes who do, without enough mana to power the bond, you can't effect the universe with your Science the way your vision says you should be able to."

"But everyone knows," Shinji protested, "magic isn't real."

"It isn't?" Fred asked, hopping onto the table in his avian form.

"That's different!" Shinji argued. "You're a … a … "

"Yes," Fred agreed. "That just makes it easier for me. You, on the other hand, are a Pilot. A lot of that just means that you are bonded to your mother in ways the average person would never understand. Still, there has to be more to it than that. We'll figure it out eventually, though."

"Why do you say there has to be more to it?" Shinji asked.

"Mostly, it's a feeling," Fred said. "I'm never quite sure how reliable the feelings are, but I've learned that it's not wise to ignore them. So for now, I'll just keep paying attention and hope that when something falls into place, I'll be awake enough to notice it. Speaking of which, Ritsuko said you'll be back in Unit 00 tomorrow, Rei. Feeling strong enough to extend yourself?"

"I believe so," Rei said. "If you were to make something with meat tomorrow, would you make it less spicy, so that I may try a taste?"

"Of course, love," Fred said, smiling. "What do you think, Shinji? Anything basic, but flavorful, come to mind?"

"If we have enough herring," Shinji suggested, "we could always try grilling a couple. That's what sensei and I used to do in the summer when it was too hot to cook in the kitchen."

"That's easy enough," Fred said, then grinned. "but I know something even better for hot days. I'll get it together and the two of you can tell me if you like it tomorrow after Rei's test. Speaking of which … " he reached into a pocket and took out ID badges. "Your new badges came through today, and Ritsuko asked me to make sure you both got yours. Here you go."

Rei and Shinji took their badges. Shinji studied his, while Rei put hers in her pocket without a glance.

"Why is it, you never look like yourself on these things?" Shinji asked as he studied his card.

Rei gave him a confused look, then took out her own card and studied her photo.

"I do not understand," Rei said. "Who else should this photograph look like, if not me?"

"Yours looks like you, love," Fred said, chuckling softly. "But compare Shinji's photo to the way you usually see his face. Go ahead, show her your card."

Shinji offered Rei his card, and she studied it for nearly a minute, before handing it back to him.

"Your photograph does not look sad," Rei said. "In fact, it does not have any expression at all. That is not natural for you. Your face does not look like you unless it is expressing what you are feeling. Is that what you mean?"

"That's it exactly," Fred said. "Since you never let anyone see what you are feeling, your photo looks the way you look to everyone around you. Shinji, on the other hand, expresses his feelings all the time, so his photo looks unnatural."

"Is that wrong?" Rei asked, tilting her head to study Fred.

"No, love," Fred said. "It's not wrong. It makes it harder for humans to understand you, but it's not wrong."

"Humans require emotional cues in order to understand each other?" Rei asked.

"I think that's pretty much it," Fred said. "What do you think, Shinji?"

"It helps," Shinji said. "When we can see people express their feelings, it makes it easier to feel along with them, and that makes it easier to feel connected to them."

"You do not feel the bond within you?" Rei asked. "That seems sad. Humans must be very lonely beings."

"Most are," Fred said. "But at the same time, they're willing to accept that as the price of being individuals. No one wants to lose who they are, simply so they can be better bonded to the rest of humanity."

"Sensei is right, but he doesn't go far enough," Shinji said. "To us, our individuality is precious. Not only for ourselves, but for each other as well. He loves you because you are Ayanami Rei. He would not love you the same way if you were simply a body that expressed a part of humanity. And you would not love him the same way if you were not Ayanami Rei. If you were simply human body number six billion and one, without being the person you are, you would not feel for him the way you do, and you would not want him the way you do. You wouldn't even be able to enjoy a friendly lunch, like we had at school today, if you were not the individual you are."

"I believe I understand what you mean," Rei said. "I love Master because he is unique, and he loves me because I am unique. If we were nothing more than statistical representatives of the human species, there would be nothing unique in either of us to love."

"That's right," Shinji said. "There will never be another person like you, or like him, or like me, or like any of the other people you know. Each one of us is unique."

"I must think about this," Rei said softly. "There is much more to understand than I had anticipated." She smiled at Shinji. "Thank you."

"I … you're welcome, Rei," Shinji said, returning her smile.

"I will be in my room," Rei said, then stood and left the kitchen.

"Think there's enough here to make lunches with?" Fred asked. "I tried to make sure there was enough left."

"The squash alone is plenty," Shinji said. "Thank you. I'm still surprised at how good it is. I've never tasted curry like this before."

"Wait till you taste my chili," Fred said, grinning.

"Be sure to have plenty of milk on hand when you do," Edgar commented. "Anyone outside the family compares Dad's chili to napalm and other chemical warfare agents."

"It's not my fault they have no taste for heat," Fred snorted, then grinned. "Seriously, I won't inflict that on you. Not with your history with bad curries. Most of the bad curries I've had were cooked by people who thought that the hotter the curry, the better. Tonight should have proven just how wrong that attitude is."

"I'll say," Shinji agreed.

When Fred rose to begin clearing the table, Shinji joined him. Between the two, the table was cleared, dishes in the dishwasher and leftovers in the refrigerator in less than five minutes.

"So, what do you do for entertainment?" Fred asked. "Homework can't take up all your time."

"Well," Shinji said, blushing, "I do play the cello. I'm not sure how good I am, but nobody ever told me to stop playing it after I learned, so I've kept it up."

"Good," Fred said. "I'll ask around and see if there's anyone else on base who plays, and see if we can't get a quartet going. No point in not enjoying it."

"Just like that?" Shinji asked.

"Why not?" Fred said. "If you've kept on playing it after learning, you must be enjoying it, and as far as I'm concerned, if you're having fun and not hurting anyone, then you should be free to do it as often as you like."

"I'm not very good," Shinji said.

"When did you start playing?" Fred asked.

"When I was five," Shinji said.

"And you're not very good," Fred laughed. "You know, I find that hard to believe. What's the most involved piece you've played?"

"Well, I've played some Bach," Shinji said. "I guess the most involved would be Suite number one in G."

Edgar broke into laughter. "Not very good? Not very good? Do you realize that some professional cellists consider that to be a masterpiece? And you're playing it at 14. Trust me, if you weren't very good, you wouldn't have a chance of playing it."

"He's the expert," Fred shrugged. "I just know what I like. I sing some, but I'm nowhere near that level of mastery. I always figured my voice was good for the shower, or maybe close friends, but that's about it."

"You really think it's that good?" Shinji asked. "I just know that my sensei encouraged me to try it, and I enjoyed it enough that I kept working on it until I felt comfortable playing it."

"If you're as good as the piece," Edgar said, "I think it's that good. Once your cello is here and unpacked, you can play, OK?"

"If you say so," Shinji said.

"So what have you been doing when homework isn't occupying you?" Fred asked.

"Honestly?" Shinji asked. "Until yesterday I mostly just stayed in my room and played my music tapes, to try and drown out Misato … sorry, Captain Katsuragi."

"No need to apologize to me," Fred snorted. "You already know what I think of her."

"I know," Shinji said. "Thank you. I'm not sure how sane I would have remained if I'd had to stay with her."

"Trust me," Fred said, "I understand. I wasn't kidding when I said my first wife's father is a drunk. I think coping with his drinking is part of what inspired her to pursue a career in forensics. Too many secrets covered up when she was a child, you know?"

"I, uh, I think so," Shinji said. He looked around, then asked, "Aren't you going to go after Rei?"

"No," Fred said. "She said she needed to think. She'll find me when she wants to. She may come looking for you, too, to ask more questions. Speaking of which, thank you. I'm not all that good at explaining individual humans or their motivations. I'm pretty OK at explaining humans in aggregate, since that's simply applying quantum theory to organic quanta, but explaining individuals, even the ones I know and love with all my heart, is usually beyond me."

"You … you're welcome," Shinji said, giving Fred a surprised look. "You really have that much trouble with people?"

"I do," Fred said. "Always have. Before my true identity Awakened, I was always written off as either autistic or Mad, depending on the doctor. Well, except the guy who transferred my brain into this body, but he would just snicker a lot. Until I was able to turn the tables on him and start snickering at him."

"Why?" Shinji asked.

"Because he's Gryphon," Fred said, grinning maniacally. "He had no clue, and when he Awakened he tried to deny it for … damn, over a year, I think. He just wanted to be a doctor, you know? Still thinks of himself primarily as a doctor, and only secondarily as a god. Not that I can say much, since I mostly think of myself as Mad, and only get into the Raven thing when I have to – or I think it would be fun. Which isn't as often as you'd think. To a sane … well, relatively sane, anyway … person, doing the whole I AM A GOD, YOU PUNY MORTALS thing isn't nearly as fun as the movies make it out to be."

"Um, could you not do that again?" Shinji stammered, while backing toward the door, a look of terror on his face.

"Yeah," Fred said. "Sorry about that. The Voice is really that scary, huh?"

"Uh-huh!" Shinji said, nodding vigorously enough that Fred worried about whiplash.

"Tell you what," Fred said. "I won't use the Voice on anyone I don't have to while I'm here, OK?"

"Promise?" Shinji asked, still staring at Fred.

"Promise," Fred said. A wave of power swept through the apartment. A moment later, Rei appeared at the door, sliding to a stop as if she'd run from her room.

"Master?" Rei asked, without pausing to catch her breath. "Did you just make a promise?"

"I did," Fred said. "I promised Shinji I wouldn't use my god-voice on anyone I don't have to while I'm here."

"Was that the voice that made the whole building shake?" Rei asked.

"That's the one," Fred said, then chuckled. "Seriously, I don't want some ill-tempered physicist to grab me by the leg and start slamming me into concrete flooring. I suspect that would hurt."

"Especially when you make the dying cat noise?" Edgar snickered.

"Especially then," Fred agreed.

"I do not believe Akagi-sensei is capable of accomplishing such a feat," Rei said.

"That's it!" Fred declared. "I'm making popcorn! Time for the two of you to relax and discover the benefits of not expanding your minds for an evening. Do either of you know anything about Twentieth-Century American manga?"

"No," Rei said, while Shinji shook his head.

"Oh my," Fred grinned. "This could take several nights to build up to the punchline, then. Be prepared for shonen movies at their silliest. I stumbled onto this set of movies on a world I was banished to where the ambient mana level was so low, they thought it was fiction."

"Ayanami?" Shinji said softly, "I think I'm worried."

"Why?" Rei asked. "Master is offering to share some of what he enjoys with us. Is this not a good thing?"

"He sounds like Aida-kun does when talking about military stuff," Shinji said. "That's what's scary."

"Would that mean he is a manga otaku?" Rei asked.

"I think so," Shinji said. "I think we should be worried."

"It's not that bad," Fred laughed. "I'm just trying to help you understand where some of my confusing comments come from."

"Like," Edgar added, "when Dad says,"

"Puny god," Fred growled, in a voice that sounded like a weightlifter who had gargled with gravel, then broke up laughing before continuing in his own voice. "Damn, Loki dies laughing whenever I show him that scene. Has trouble imagining himself being such a putz."

"Loki?" Rei asked. "The Norse god of trickery?"

"And Hel's father," Fred said, grinning. "Which makes him my father-in-law. He's a real card."

"You are married to Hel, as well as Miri and Hokuto?" Rei asked.

"Yup," Fred said. "A few more women as well, who you're going to have to meet sooner or later."

"How do you do it?" Shinji asked. "I'm not even married to one, and I still have trouble understanding women."

"Who said I understand them?" Fred laughed. "We're talking individual humans, after all. Still, love can bridge a lot of confusion."

"So, um, what kind of family do you have?" Shinji asked.

Fred led the way into the living room and relaxed on a Western sofa, with his feet resting on a coffee table.

"Why don't we see if I can get a phone call through?" Fred suggested. "It's been, what, twenty-two days since I got here? That means twenty-two minutes since I was Banished. Miri's probably in the middle of helping Ginger and Red arrange for babysitters and the like, so I'll call … Ari's probably a good choice. After her experiences, she's probably the most patient of any of them."

"Dialing Ari," Edgar announced. Rei settled in on Fred's lap and rested her head on his shoulder while Edgar generated the sound of a phone ringing.

On the third ring, an image formed above the coffee table, of a waif-thin woman with pointed ears and strawberry blonde hair, wearing a mottled green and brown leather outfit, with a pair of sword hilts sticking up over her shoulders, and a short, double-recurved bow resting in a combination quiver and holster on her left hip.

"Banished again, Beloved?" the image asked, once her gaze had come to rest on Fred. "I do wish Dr. Powers would finish that ward he has been promising."

"So do I, Sweetheart," Fred sighed. "So do I. I called to let you know I'm OK, it's been three weeks here, and I'm working with the people I'm most certain are involved in what will get me and Rei home."

The woman shifted her gaze from Fred to Rei, then to Shinji, then back to Rei, and groaned. " _That_ universe, Beloved?"

"I take it Alex inflicted it on you, too?" Fred asked, chuckling. "Apparently so, although Edgar tells me we're already seeing some differences."

"Such as?" the woman asked dubiously.

"Captain Katsuragi's drinking has ruined her ability to command," Edgar said. "As far as NERV's troops are concerned, she's a shrieking harpy when it comes to anything other than her precious Evas."

"She's also apparently so far gone she can't even behave properly with someone she's supposed to be the guardian of," Fred said. "And when we took Shinji from her, she snapped and tried to kill Gendo."

"Who is," Edgar said, "believe it or not, as decent a man as Ambrosius. And just as manipulative."

"What about the Angels?" the woman asked.

"Sachiel was just interested in rescuing Adam," Fred said. "NERV screwed that up, although I'm not sure what his reaction would have been if he'd known Lilith was the only progenitor here."

"He probably would have tried to touch her," Rei said. "If an Angel of Adam's brood were to touch Lilith, the results would be equivalent to Second Impact."

"If not worse," Edgar said, "given where we are. Second Impact, at least, occurred on Antarctica. An explosion of the same magnitude, in the middle of the most populated part of Japan? I _can_ calculate the losses, but I don't _want_ to."

"Neither do I," Rei agreed.

"You aren't the same, either," the woman in the image said, looking at Rei. "You sound like a person, and not merely a self-propelled piloting program."

"I am," Rei said. "That is partly due to Master. He has encouraged me to be myself at every turn. Even the Commander treated me only as a tool, a means to rejoin Shinji's mother. Master loves me for myself. I did not understand how great a difference that was until I experienced it."

"I understand," the image said. "He did the same for me, when I was merely a tool for the lord of my city. Fred saved me, when I had given up on myself."

"Ari," Fred said gently, reaching into the image. "You _are_ good. You _are_ worthy of love. You _are_ my Beloved."

"I know, Beloved," Ari sighed. "I just … when I remember the years I spent in Cania, believing that I deserved to be condemned there, it's hard."

"Do I hear someone letting her unwarranted guilt feelings get to her again?" a woman with white-blonde hair, wearing a black t-shirt and tight black leather pants asked as she walked into view from the left side of the image. "Am I going to have to hug the guilts out of you again, Sweetheart?"

"I'm trying, Hel," Ari said, turning to the white-blonde woman and falling into her embrace as if they were lovers.

The newcomer turned to face Fred, holding Ari in her arms, and Rei and Shinji saw that her beauty extended only to the right side of her body. Her left side looked like a desiccated corpse, with gray, stringy hair that left large patches of scalp exposed, a film over the eye, and lips drawn back to expose her yellowish teeth. While the right side of her body had flawless pale skin over a full, buxom figure, her left side was dried and leathery, and covered a shrunken form that was defined solely by the skeletal structure that supported it.

"Hel!" Fred exclaimed, with the same happiness he had shown when Ari had appeared. "Ari, you know Hel loves you as much as I do, and would no more lie to you than I would."

"I know," Ari said, after giving Hel a kiss. She turned and rested in Hel's embrace, and smiled at Fred. "Ayanami is your bondmate, Beloved?"

"She is," Fred said, looking down to smile lovingly at Rei. "She and Shinji are living with me, since Yui seems to trust me for some unknown reason," both Hel and Ari laughed at the comment, "and Rei has taken advantage of her research into the law to declare that she has chosen me. Naturally, that caused Gendo some consternation, but it did give us the excuse we needed to make some drastic changes in NERV operations."

"Master is a very sneaky bird," Rei declared, looking up at Fred with a gleam in her eyes.

"Master, is it?" Hel laughed. "You haven't met a certain corpse princess already have you?"

"Do you mean Hokuto?" Rei asked. "She offered to share her educational materials with me."

Hel and Ari both broke into laughter that left them leaning against something – Rei couldn't see what it was – for support.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble, Husband," Hel laughed.

"Educational materials?" Ari laughed. "That's what she's calling them?"

"That's what who's calling what?" a woman with green skin, dark hair in a pageboy cut, and pointed ears, asked.

"Those videos of yours," Ari snorted, poking the woman in the breast with the tip of a finger. "Hokuto has decided they are educational materials."

"As if she needs education?" the green-skinned woman snorted. "That girl's got enough natural talent and enthusiasm to wear me out! And I'm a professional!"

"She has four hundred years to catch up on," Hel said, an amused smile on her living side. "Meanwhile, our beloved husband has once again been Banished."

"Well, that would explain why Mar couldn't raise him on com," the green-skinned woman said. She tapped a badge pinned to her shirt, waited for it to chirp, then said, "Mar, love, why aren't you trying to reach Fred through your watch?"

"I'm in the middle of tuning this warp coil, Arith!" another woman's voice replied. "I had to take my watch off so it wouldn't get caught on any of the machinery!"

"If you're working in quarters that close, why don't you hire a gnome or three to get in there for you?" Arith asked, while rubbing her temples.

"I wanted to prove to Fred that I could do it without help," the other voice said.

"And what does Aribeth have to say about that?" Arith asked, in the tone Rei had heard Akagi-sensei use on people in her department who were not performing up to their potential.

"I say that Mar is only going to learn it's a bad idea when she's given herself enough bruises and scrapes," another voice, that sounded very similar to Ari's, said. "I suggested gnomes as well, but you know how stubborn she gets."

"I'm right here!" the first voice protested. "I can hear you talk about me!"

"Then you can hear me tell you that Fred's been Banished again," Arith said. "Instead of the warp coils, maybe you should be tuning the hyperdrive."

"I don't want Aribeth to get hurt," Fred said. "Better Amelia should make this trip, and bring Max with her. Of course, if the two of you were to come on Amelia, you'd get to meet Rei in person, before she comes back with me to meet everyone else."

"And she's cute, too," Arith said. "Looks about the same age as Hokuto looks, with blue hair in a practical cut. She's curled up on Fred's lap right now, and looks as if she's not willing to relinquish that seat for anything short of the end of her universe."

"Damn it!" Mar's voice complained, "Now I have to crawl out of this Jeffries Tube, just so I can put my watch back on and see her! Is she really that cute?"

"I'd do her," Arith declared.

"You'd do a Ferengi," Mar snorted.

"Not would, love," Arith laughed. "Did. I have over two dozen videos as proof of that."

"I know, I know," Mar shot back, "and your own little video empire here in Laputa."

"Would it help if I told you that I think she's cute?" Ari asked. "You know that I'm quite a bit pickier than Arith is."

"Yes, it does," Mar said. "Now I really am going to have to see her."

"Don't worry, love," Fred said. "She's coming home with me. I think the two of you might have broken Shinji, though."

Rei looked over to see that Shinji was staring into the image as if his higher thought processes had shut down and he was waiting for them to restart. Arith leaned toward Fred, her head tilted as she studied Shinji.

"Same era as here?" Arith asked.

"Same," Fred said. "It's 2015 here."

"He looks Asian," Arith said. "Which culture?"

"Japanese," Fred said.

"Poor kid," Arith said. "Given his apparent age, I'll bet he gets called a pervert if he so much as looks at a girl from across a football field."

"Pretty much," Fred said. "To make matters worse, there's going to be another girl his age moving in with us sometime in the next couple weeks. She has … ego problems."

"Oh dear," Arith said. "I'd love to help, but I suspect that my help would be about as explosive as a Deltan dropping in on a dorm full of first-year cadets."

"Oh, I'm not sure it would be _that_ bad," Fred laughed. "But yes, this culture is extremely confused. For instance, the age of consent is thirteen, but they can't get married without parental permission until they're twenty."

"That's bound to cause trouble," Arith said, shaking her head. "Seven years of limbo only encourages confusion."

"Especially when the only information most people their age get access to is manga that makes your videos look like monastic guides by comparison," Fred said.

"So what do you think, Rei?" Arith asked. "I heard you call him Master. Is he everything you hoped for?"

"I am not certain yet," Rei said. "Master is very protective and very concerned about my ability to make my own choices, but when I chose to go to him last night, he responded by caressing me until I fell asleep, then holding me in his lap until I woke this morning. He said that he was concerned my body was not prepared for what I was asking of him. You say you are a professional. Does your profession give you any insight into his actions?"

"Not my profession," Arith said, chuckling, "but my knowledge of Fred. I have two professions. I am second in command of the Aribeth, and I am an actress. I have starred in over two dozen holos of the Vulcan Love Slave series. It helped pay for my expenses while I was in the Academy, and it was a lot of fun, too. Being Fred's first officer probably does more to help me understand why he did what he did, though."

"Will you explain it?" Rei asked. "I am still confused."

"Do you understand what it is you want from him?" Arith asked.

"I want to become fully bonded with him," Rei said. "I want to feel him within me, and me within him. I want to wake up to his presence, and feel his presence no matter what I do or where I am. I want to feel him holding me when I fall asleep, and I want to know that I will always be his. I want to feel the happiness that I see in Hokuto when she is in his arms. I do not know if that is asking too much, but that is what I want."

"You can have that now," Arith said. "All you have to do is ask him."

"But he refused me," Rei said, confused.

"He only refused sexual penetration, hon," Arith said. "You don't need that to experience the bond you want. But once you have the bond, it's so much better than when you don't, you'll never want anyone you don't have a bond with again. I know I don't, despite Mar's teasing about my empire."

"What must I do?" Rei asked.

"Tell me that's what you want," Fred said gently, while smiling lovingly at Arith. "Every one of my wives has that bond, so when you bond with me, you will not only be bonded with me, but with all of them as well. When you bond with me, you will not only feel me, you will feel Hokuto, and Hel, and Ari, and Arith and Mar, and Miri, and the others. You will feel them, and they will feel you, and you will understand each one of them as a unique individual, just as unique as you."

"I will feel each of you?" Rei asked, looking at Hel and Ari and Arith. When they all nodded at her, with encouraging smiles, Rei turned her gaze on Fred. "I want that, Master. I want to be bonded to you as they are. I want all of what you described."

"Then you shall have it," Fred said, cupped Rei's chin, and kissed her.

The physical sensation was much as Rei remembered it from her previous kiss. While the physical sensation remained, however, she felt her mind opening, in much the same way as Fred had encouraged her to attempt when she next piloted Unit 00. As her mind opened, she felt other presences. The first to touch her was Fred himself, and as the touch grew from a simple presence to a warmth that enfolded her like a protective blanket, she knew, without any doubt, that he loved her despite his previous hesitation. In fact, as the bond grew stronger, she felt the knowledge of his love grow with it, until it felt as if her universe was made up entirely of the two of them, and that she could draw on him, infinitely, without ever exhausting either his love or his ability to support her.

As the bond firmed, she felt a presence that could only be Hokuto, excitedly reaching out to her and welcoming her as a sister – although Hokuto's definition of sister seemed to exclusively mean those within the bond. Beside Hokuto was another presence – one who was much more shy and timid, but whose desire to know her rivaled Hokuto's in its intensity. She felt the presence name herself Hikaru, and understood that she was a multitude of things, all at once. She was more than a priestess, but less than an avatar. Like Hokuto, Hikaru contained a portion of Master's essence within her, and it gave her abilities that were beyond any she expected of humans. Soon, the others flocked around her, each one revealing that she, too, contained a portion of Master's essence, and each one openly sharing her essence with Rei.

In the physical world, Rei's eyes filled with tears, and she clung to Master with a strength that would have injured mortal flesh, as her body began to glow the way the inside of her entry plug had just before the disastrous attempt at synchronization with Unit 00. She opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to form coherent words, while at the same time finding she didn't need words in the presence of Master.

The other presences took Rei and guided her to Master's core, where he waited for her, glowing with the light of his love. Each one of them kissed Rei, filling her with a little bit of her own light, as they passed her ultimately to Master, who drew her into himself and filled up every space that had been empty, most of which she had not known existed before now.

With Master's essence and the essences of the others filling her, Rei knew each one, better than she knew herself. The fierce protectiveness of Miri, the love for all living things that was Hel, the need to feel worthy that defined Ari – Aribeth? So he'd named his ship after Ari – each one was unique and identifiable, and each one welcomed her as one of them, without any of the jealousy or resentment she witnessed in those of her body's age. For the first time in her existence, she felt love and acceptance. For the first time since she had been created, so many billions of years ago, she knew she belonged.

"Ayanami?" Shinji's voice intruded on her happiness. "Are you all right?"

"I am," Rei said, wiping her face with a handkerchief Fred handed her. "I am all right. I am … this feeling is happiness, Master?"

"That's what it feels like to me, love," Fred said gently. He gave Shinji a sympathetic smile and a chuckle. "Girls tend to cry when they're happy, Shinji. It's something you'll have to learn to understand. Just ask them, how hard it was for me to learn that."

"He was hopeless!" Hel laughed. "Every time one of us cried, he'd cringe and ask what he'd done wrong. Even when we were crying from pure joy."

"It was kind of cute at first," Ari said, "but after a while it goes from being cute to being endearing."

"You all must have cured him," Arith laughed. "He never had to ask by the time he got to us."

"You're happy, Ayanami?" Shinji asked. "Really?"

"Really," Rei said, and smiled at Shinji. "For the first time in my life, I am truly happy. It is overwhelming."

"I'd much rather you be overwhelmed with happiness," Shinji said, "than anything bad. What happened? You went still for about a minute, then you began to glow, then you started to cry."

"Do you remember how I said that I want to be bonded to Master?" Rei asked. "He granted my wish. I am now bonded to him, and to all of his other wives. For the first time since I was created, I can feel. I feel Master, and I feel each of the others, and I feel how much they love me, and how important I am to them. I am not just a tool or a replaceable part to them. To Master, to Hel, to Ari, to Arith, to Hokuto, to Miri, to all of them, I am one of them, and I am loved. I belong, Shinji. I am no longer on the outside, looking in. With Master and his family, I am now a part of the family."

Shinji looked at Rei for close to half a minute, then gave her a smile and said softly, "Now you know how happy I was when I was finally able to be with my mother. I'm glad for you."

"Now I know," Rei agreed. "Now I understand. I am so happy you have your mother, Shinji. Now I understand how important it is to be bonded to someone who loves you."

"We'll make sure everyone else knows," Ari said, "and that they know which universe you've landed in this time.

"Thanks, Sweetheart," Fred said. "Hopefully, Alex has shared that anime around enough that the kittens don't want to stow away."

"We can hope," Ari said, giving Fred a longing look. "Given the time slip you mentioned, we may even get you home by next week."

"We just may," Fred said, then reached out to touch Ari's lips gently. She let out a faint gasp and covered her mouth with her hand, then blushed.

"First Tyr, now you, what am I going to do?" Ari asked, while smiling happily at Fred.

"Get used to the fact that you're divinely loved," Fred teased, then reached out to touch each of the other women in the image before disconnecting.

Once the image had vanished, he wrapped his arms around Rei and kissed her. This time, she closed her eyes and purred into the kiss as she felt the love that went with it. When they separated, Fred smiled at Rei and whispered, "I think we should stop making Shinji blush, don't you, love?"

"Shinji?" Rei said gently, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It's all right," Shinji said, while looking down and away. He paused for a moment, then said, "Ayanami? Do you realize you just said 'don't'?"

"I did?" Rei asked, then looked into the distance "Huh. So I did. Did it trouble you?"

"No!" Shinji protested. "No, it didn't trouble me at all! I was just surprised. You never use informal words."

"I never did," Rei agreed. "Master, however, uses them all the time, and since I am bonded to him, I believe I may pick up some of his habits."

"As long as it's not the bad ones, that's all right," Fred laughed.

"I doubt that she would consider any of your habits bad, Sensei," Shinji said, joining in Fred's laughter.

Rei looked at Fred and Shinji and tilted her head as she searched for the proper response. An image from Miri, which she quickly matched with images from several of the others, gave her what she needed to act. She looked up at Fred and extended her lower lip in a pout. He blinked and looked back at her, surprise written all over his face, then grinned and bent down to kiss her. A most satisfactory response. She filed it away for future consideration.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Manfred arrive, with Miri - and a stow-away.
> 
> Ramiel makes an annoyance of himself.
> 
> Rei takes matters into her own hands.

_"Remember, love,_ _don't try to synchronize with it_ _,"_ Fred thought. He was up to his armpits in the firing chamber of one of the Eva assault rifles, using a finger laser to polish away a burr that could have caused the 209mm shells to hang up during firing and jam the weapon. _"Simply let yourself become it. All of us are with you."_

_"I know, Master,"_ Rei thought back. _"I can feel you. Thank you."_

_"I'm in the armory, if you need to find me for any reason, love,"_ Fred thought, then sent her an image of the rifle he was working on. _"Low bidder, I swear."_

_"It_ was _done as a government contract, after all,"_ Rei thought, laughing. _"Oh dear. Ritsuko just chided me for not taking my test seriously. I had better focus on my work."_

_"You can always blame me for distracting you, if you like,"_ Fred laughed. _"She already knows we're talking behind her back anyway."_

_"That would reveal our capabilities to SEELE,"_ Rei thought. _"I would not advise that. I will be here, Master, but I should focus on my test."_

_"I love you, Rei."_ Fred thought, while running his hand over the area he had just polished. "Hmm … deviation of slightly over one ten-thousandth. The shells shouldn't have a problem with that. On to the next rifle."

Fred was scanning the next MM-99 when the alert signal activated.

_"Master?"_ Rei thought. _"The Commander just cut my activation test short. I heard an alert activation just before they pulled the plug. Do you know what is happening?"_

_"Not yet, love,"_ Fred thought. _"He only would have pulled the plug if he either thought you weren't ready for field work, or was planning to hold you in reserve in case Shinji runs into trouble. Just a moment."_ Fred closed his eyes so he could focus on the information Edgar was gleaning from the Magi. _"Got it. They're calling it Ramiel. It looks like an octahedron, and it's flying toward us. They're waking Yui up. Shinji? How are you doing?"_

_"It's not how I'd planned to spend my afternoon,"_ Shinji replied, making Fred smile with the refreshing sardonic tone, _"but at least I know I won't be bored."_

_"You sound_ _so_ _much more comfortable than you did before we moved in with Master,"_ Rei thought. _"I like it."_

_"Thanks, Ayanami,"_ Shinji thought. _"I feel more comfortable. I have people I care for, who I know care about me and what I'm doing. That gives me more reason than ever to do my best."_

_"You know us,"_ Fred thought. _"If you wanted to get the hell off the planet, we'd be right there, helping you find a flight."_

_"I know,"_ Shinji thought. _"That's why it means so much. Ug. Why do they make these things so that when you activate them, it feels like you're getting a wedgie?"_

_"What is a wedgie?"_ Rei thought.

_"An unfortunate side-effect of skin-tight clothing,"_ Fred thought. _"I'm told the sensation is a lot like ordinary panties trying to fit like they're a thong."_

_"That sounds remarkably uncomfortable,"_ Rei thought. _"I am sorry it feels that way, Shinji."_

_"I'm kind of used to it,"_ Shinji thought. _"It's usually only uncomfortable when it first shrinks to fit. Here we go. I'm climbing into the entry plug now. See you when this is done."_

_"Be careful,"_ Fred thought. _"This one's a regular solid. Unless you can find an irregularity, your bullets will just bounce off of it. And that's assuming it doesn't use its AT field."_

_"I'm getting the launch signal,"_ Shinji thought. _"We'll be back as soon as we can."_

_"Oh dear,"_ Rei thought, worried. _"Akagi-sensei is upset. She just demanded that the Commander retrieve Unit 01."_

_"We've got a problem,"_ Edgar thought. _"That Angel has a particle accelerator in it. If Yui doesn't have her AT field up when she hits the surface, she's going to be hurt."_

_"Yui!"_ Fred called frantically, while untangling from the rifle. _"Activate your AT field!"_

_"I can't,"_ Yui answered. _"I'm still on the launcher."_

_"Get it up as soon as you stop,"_ Fred thought. _"That Angel has a particle beam cannon."_

_"Damn!"_ Yui thought. _"Surface in … now! Activating AT field!"_

A moment later, Yui's scream joined with Shinji's over every Nerv radio frequency as well as through Fred and Rei's minds. Fred vanished from the armory and reappeared in front of Unit 01, his Ravenfield black as it absorbed the particle beam.

"Recover them! Recover them!" Fred called over the radio. "I'm not big enough to block the entire beam!"

"Cover as much as you can," Gendo called. "I'll meet them in the cage."

Behind Fred, the launch cradle sank below ground, carrying Unit 01 with it.

"You bastard!" Fred growled as he launched himself at Ramiel. "Adam isn't even here, you idiot!"

_"If that is not Adam I sense,"_ Ramiel replied, _"it must be Lilith. I will exterminate her and all of her spawn."_

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Fred snarled, transformed both arms into particle beam cannons, and fired at Ramiel from less than ten yards away. The beams struck an AT field that caused them to splash, like water from fire hoses.

"We don't have enough power," Edgar said. "We would need Max, at least, if not someone as big as LART."

"LART's in Tali's home universe, though," Fred growled as he glared at Ramiel.

"Can you do something about the drill?" Ritsuko's voice asked over the radio. "At the rate it's cutting through our armor, it's going to be into the geofront in ten hours."

"I can certainly try," Fred said, and dove below Ramiel, finally noticing the shaft that made up its drill. He extended wings and boosted the Ravenfield on the leading edge of the wings, until it glowed a deep purple-black, then boosted his speed as he dove for the shaft. Again, just before impact with the body, he struck an AT field that he could not penetrate.

"Damn it!" Fred cursed. "That AT field is too strong!."

"Break off," Gendo called. "We'll work out what to do once you're here."

"On my way," Fred said. "Ritsuko, can you find out what the range on that particle beam is? Or at least how close you have to get before it will shoot at you?"

"You have an idea?" Ritsuko asked.

"I do, if we have a big enough cannon," Fred said.

"We can get one," Gendo said. "Nothing more until you're inside."

"Roger," Fred said. He dove for one of the launch hatches, sent an open command to it, and dropped to the Eva cage.

"Shinji is unconscious, but alive," Rei said as Fred landed beside her. "Yui is badly injured, though."

"Anything we can do to speed her healing?" Fred asked.

"We're doing it already," Ritsuko said. "Submerging her in LCL will speed her healing more effectively than anything else we can do."

"LCL?" Fred asked, wrinkling his nose. "Where do you get …." He trailed off and stared at Ritsuko, then asked softly, "She's bleeding this much?"

"What do you mean?" Ritsuko asked, looking away.

"Lilith," Fred hissed softly. "This is _her_ blood, isn't it?"

"You'll have to ask the Commander," Ritsuko said, giving Fred a pleading look as she spoke.

"Don't worry," Fred said softly. "I will."

Rei took Fred's arm and steered him toward the passage between the cage and the Commander's office. Once they were well out of range of both, she stopped him and looked up into his eyes.

"Yes," Rei said softly. "My … original body … is bleeding that much. It is not human doing, though. When they found me, this entire geofront was filled with my blood. They taught themselves how to use it in ways that would be beneficial, at the same time as they were developing the Evangelion."

"So, you see this as beneficial?" Fred asked, letting Rei's words calm him.

"Perhaps not in a purely objective sense," Rei said, "but in the sense that they are doing the best they can with the materials available to them."

"Which is all any of us can do," Fred said, nodding. "All right. Thank you, love. I would have made an utter ass of myself if you hadn't explained."

"I understand that is one of your more endearing traits, Master," Rei said, smiling. She rose on her toes to kiss him, then took his hand and started toward the Commander's office.

 

Gendo looked at Fred and Rei without speaking, until Fred nodded and said, "Today's entertainment is Red Dwarf."

"I understand you asked Dr. Akagi about the LCL," Gendo said.

"I understand that when you found Lilith, she was surrounded by enough of it you had to find ways to use it, just so you could get to her," Fred said.

"Good," Gendo said. "You understand. I believe that being submerged in LCL is the only reason Shinji survived long enough for you to shield them. Even when boiling, its healing properties are remarkable."

"Not surprising," Fred said. "Do we know what the range on that bastard is? I tried talking to him, and once he figured out it's Lilith down here, he got excited about exterminating her and her spawn."

"Not yet," Gendo said. "I'm ordering decoys, to test its range but for now I think we're going to have to go with the assumption that we'll have to be as close to its horizon as possible."

"Not a problem, if we can get a gun that's powerful enough," Fred said. "If you can do that, I can provide the power. And shielding to ensure that Rei doesn't get hurt while she's taking the shot."

"I'd still rather have Shinji on the trigger," Gendo said. "Assuming he wakes up soon enough. I'm sorry, Rei, but you don't have the experience in combat that he does."

"Or, more specifically," Rei said, "that Yui does. She has the right instincts. Especially when she knows she's protecting Shinji. I only just figured out how to awaken Unit 00. I understand."

"Good," Gendo said. "MacManus, if you can give us a power supply that's big enough to do the job, I can get you the gun. I happen to know the JSSDF has been working on a particle beam rifle that makes anything in our armory look like a pocket knife by comparison. I also know, based on the readings from your attempt to penetrate Ramiel's AT field, that it will take something that powerful to hit it."

"You'll need Rei to deliver it in time, then," Fred said. "I'll get started on the power supply. As long as I don't have too many people telling me it's impossible, I'll have it ready with plenty of time to spare."

Gendo picked up his phone and keyed in an internal number. "Dr. Akagi? MacManus will be providing the power supply for our operation. Make sure your people know to give him everything he needs without any obstructions." Once he had hung up, Gendo nodded at Fred. "That should take care of that."

Fred nodded, kissed Rei, and headed for the door. "I'll call when I have the power supply ready."

 

"But that's not possible!" the third technician in the last fifteen minutes complained, as Fred finished the process of synthesizing enough MacManusite to form the central core of Ravenfield generators for both Yui and Rei. He ignored the protests as he carved a mold to fit into unused space on the entry plug hatch covers.

"Impossible or not," Fred growled, "we have to finish this if we want Ayanami and Ikari to destroy that Angel. Now are you going to help me, or are you going to get out of my way?"

"Stop terrorizing the staff," Ritsuko said, walking up behind Fred. "Show me what you need done."

"What size cable will be feeding the power into the rifle?" Fred asked.

"From my reading of the specs," Ritsuko said, "the primary power lead has a thirty centimeter dual-pin connector."

"Works for me," Fred said, while using finger lasers to cut circuitry into the structure of the MacManusite form. "Show me the drawings and we can get started molding the connector we need. The primary generator circuit will be done in … now. I'll have to load a copy of the control program into the Eva's brain, but once that's done, all we'll need is to hook up the power output. This will also provide enough power that we won't need to keep them on tethers any more."

"The Directors won't like that," Ritsuko said.

"Tough," Fred shot back, while gathering steel to make a mold for the connector. "How many times have we come down to the wire on power when Shinji lost his tether?"

"More than I want to think of," Ritsuko said. "All right, what do you have?"

"Ever hear of a Langston Field?" Fred asked. "That was my original inspiration. However, I worked out how to use the energy it absorbs, and dump what I can't use, so there's never any risk of the field overloading and blowing up."

"What's a Langston Field?" Ritsuko asked.

"It absorbs energy," Fred said. "Kinetic and electromagnetic. I couldn't figure out how to make one that worked like that, so I had to settle for something that absorbs all energy. Well, almost all energy. Apparently it's not so effective against AT fields. When I dove on Ramiel's drill, I was trying to absorb the atomic binding energy. That would have sliced the shaft like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately, I hit the AT field and bounced. Annoying, that."

_"We have the rifle,"_ Rei said. _"It does not seem very efficient. It uses large fuses that are loaded like rifle bullets in a bolt action. Each shot burns out one fuse."_

_"How many shots in the magazine?"_ Fred asked.

_"One,"_ Rei said.

"At this rate, it would be easier for me to build you an ion cannon," Fred grumbled.

"At what rate?" Ritsuko asked.

"Rei just told me about the rifle," Fred said. "Were they planning to snipe Angels with it?"

"Basically," Ritsuko said.

"Brilliant," Fred grumbled. "Unless they have snipers like Whitefeather here, there's no way something like that's going to take down an Angel."

"Whitefeather?" Ritsuko asked.

"US Marine," Fred said. "Took down ninety-three enemies in Vietnam. Has the record for the longest ranged kill with a gunpowder weapon, at about 2500 yards. He's the guy you always hear about, who shot another sniper through the scope. He's the only guy I can think of who could pull off an Angel kill with a single-shot weapon."

"You have a better idea?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah," Fred said, while starting another batch of MacManusite blending. "Let me make a phone call while we're molding that coupling and attaching it to this unit."

"Plastic and diamond dust?" Ritsuko asked. "That's what you're making this out of?"

"That's the ingredients," Fred said. "That's not what it ends up as when I"m done. … Yeah, Max? You want to jump over right now, and bring one of your personal ion cannons with you? Yeah, load it up with plutonium, would you? We've got a target that's going to take that kind of punch to get through its shield. Yeah, tougher than a Reaper's barrier. The faster the better. We need to take it down in less than six hours, this side. So use the time slip when you hit Red Nine. Yes, it's all right. Just be careful coming back out, OK? And when you come through, broadcast a call on the frequency and encryption Edgar's going to give you. Tell them you're with me."

"Sempai!" Maya gasped, running to Ritsuko's side. "The Commander wants you and MacManus-san in his office. He ordered me to emphasize that he wants you both there 'five minutes ago'."

"Damn!" Fred cursed. "All right. We'll be there five minutes ago, then. Just as soon as we've finished molding this coupling."

"He's not joking," Maya warned.

"Neither am I," Fred said. "We will be there, but if I leave this right now, this entire batch of materials will be wasted."

"It can't be molded once it's set up?" Ritsuko asked.

"Exactly," Fred said. "If I had the facilities, I could make Liquid MacManusite, but your lab isn't equipped for that."

"Liquid MacManusite?" Ritsuko asked.

"Ever see Terminator 2?" Fred asked. "Bad movie, great effects. The villain is an android with a liquid metal structure. It can take on any shape it likes, heal itself from any injury short of being melted down, and form weapons out of its own body."

"The way you can," Ritsuko said.

"Yup," Fred said. "My body is made of Liquid MacManusite. Well, except for my brain case. That's solid. Mike insisted on that before he let me replace the rest of it."

"And you could do something similar here?" Ritsuko asked, while moving opposite Fred and helping him steer the vat of molten plastic and diamond dust over the mold he had thrown together in the middle of the maintenance bay's floor.

"That's right," Fred said. He started pouring the molten plastic, which sparkled as it flowed into the mold. "Give the kids armor that can cover their entire units, and keep them from getting injured like they were today. Entry plugs that don't get damaged if there's an emergency ejection. Neural interfaces that work at a higher efficiency than ordinary metal. Lots of possibilities."

"Sempai!" Maya hissed, practically dancing with worry. "Ritsuko! He sounded annoyed! The Commander _never_ sounds annoyed!"

"All set," Fred said, as he covered the mold with polished and greased steel plates. "Just have the crew run water over that while we're gone, and the fitting will be set up before we get back. Don't flood the workshop, but run it as fast as the floor drains can handle without flooding."

"You heard him!" Ritsuko barked. "Get water on this and keep it running until we get back."

"Yes, Ma'am!" several technicians acknowledged before running to get hoses.

"Better?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah, that'll do nicely," Fred said. "Sorry, Maya-chan, but Rit-chan and I will have to make this trip alone. Don't worry, though. I'll make sure Gendo knows you told us exactly what he asked for."

Before Ritsuko or Maya could object, Fred put a hand on Ritsuko's shoulder and vanished, reappearing in Gendo's office the requested 'five minutes ago'.

"Is there some reason you chose to intrude unannounced?" Gendo asked, glaring at both Ritsuko and Fred.

"You asked for us," Fred said. "In fact, when you called Maya to send her to fetch us, you told her that you wanted us in your office, and I quote, 'five minutes ago'. So, here we are, five minutes ago."

Ritsuko stumbled to Gendo's desk, grabbed his waste basket, and threw up. Once she had finished losing her lunch, she marched back to Fred, grabbed the front of his lab coat, and growled, "Don't … you … _ever_ … do that to me again! Got it?"

"Now that I know you're more sensitive to paradox than I am?" Fred said, "Count on it. I get migraines, but not usually bad enough that I want to throw up."

"You traveled through time," Gendo said, giving Fred a flat look.

"Don't worry, they're listening to the Rocky Horror soundtrack," Fred said. "Yes. I had to finish molding a power coupling when Maya arrived, so I did what you needed me to do, then brought Ritsuko here in answer to your summons."

"Why would I have summoned you like that?" Gendo asked.

"Commander!" Hyuga's voice came over the intercom. "Two unidentified fighters just … dropped out of orbit? Commander, they're transmitting on our frequency!"

"Two, huh?" Fred mused. "Oh! Of course! Manfred, did you come, too?"

"Ja, Vater," a male voice with a thick German accent replied. "Mutter has not had nearly enough time for play, und Liam took care of die regelungen."

"He would," Fred said, smiling proudly. "Thanks, Manfred. Max?"

"Yeah, Dad?" a relaxed male voice replied. "Got the gun pods, and Liam tossed a couple hundred plutonium bricks in my cockpit. Amelia's going to be loaded with gold, as usual, but if we can get plutonium here, that shouldn't be a problem, right? Assuming there's still a problem by the time she gets here, that is."

"I … see," Gendo said. "Hyuga. Where is Ibuki?"

"She's in the cage," Hyuga said, "supervising the repairs to Unit 01."

"Call her to my office," Gendo said.

"Yes, sir," Hyuga said, then clicked off the intercom.

"I take it this is part of your plan?" Gendo asked, looking at Fred.

"It is," Fred said. "I've only had time to make the Ravenfield units for Rei and Yui, and assuming everything works right, one of them will be able to plug directly into the rifle, but not both. It'll still be enough to power it, assuming we can get Ramiel to shoot whoever is holding the rifle."

"Assuming we can …," Gendo trailed off, stared at Fred, and shook his head. "Of course. After what it did to Yui and Shinji you _want_ it to shoot whoever is holding the rifle."

"You've already seen what my Ravenfield can do," Fred said, "and that's just a personal-sized field. Imagine how much more effective an Eva-sized one will be."

"I ... see," Gendo said. He turned and looked out over Central Dogma, tapped his fingers thoughtfully, then turned back and pushed his glasses up. "Tell me about these fighters of yours."

"Max and Manfred?" Fred asked, then grinned. "They're both based on Valkyrie variable fighter mecha, with my own personal design changes. They're made out of the same material my body is made of, with the same Ravenfield I've built for the Evas. They both use a quad x-ray laser turret for anti-missile and light gunnery work, they're both fitted with internal stores for seventy light missiles, which I've taken to loading with nothing but singularity warheads after my experience in a universe I was banished to almost five years ago, and they both carry interchangeable gun pods that they can use as Gatling rifles in their battroid configuration. Max is kind of zen in his approach to combat, while Manfred is, as he was when he was a human, a gentleman – a true knight of the air. And, as he did when he was human, he insists on his fuselage being the most brilliant crimson available."

"When he was human?" Ritsuko asked, staring at Fred as if he were insane. "Are you trying to tell us that your wife's fighter is the Red Baron?"

"I prefer Die Rote Kampfflieger," the German voice said. "Baron is not exactly a correct rendition of freiherr."

"Fred?" a woman's voice called. "Is Rei with you?"

"Sorry, love," Fred said. "She's transporting a sniper's rifle right now. I'm not sure if she'll get back in time for me to hook up her Ravenfield unit, or if I'll have to hook it up in the field. You see that octahedron over the city?"

"Yes," the woman said. "Is that a drill I see under it?"

"That's right," Fred said. "Watch out. When you get close, it's going to try shooting you down. You can't blow it out of the sky until we give the kids a chance to do what they're paid for first. Assuming the sniper's rifle they picked up from the army is as good as its specs, they just might be able to do it, too."

"Can we at least shoot back?" the woman asked.

"Only with the lasers," Fred said. "Although I'm sure the Commander wouldn't object if you were to put a missile or three into that drill."

"I'm sure the Commander wouldn't object," Gendo grumbled. "I think we can safely agree on that."

"You've already impressed him!" the woman laughed. "All right, we'll … whee! That thing has a kick! Ready to play, Manfred?"

"Of course, Mutter," Manfred replied.

A knocking sound came from the door. Fred pulled Ritsuko back into the shadows with him, while noting silently that Gendo's office had a damned _lot_ of shadows to vanish into.

"Enter!" Gendo called

Maya walked into the office, stood at attention in front of Gendo's desk, and said, "Lieutenant Ibuki, reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Yes," Gendo said. "Good. I need you to fetch Akagi and MacManus for me. Make sure you are very clear when you find them, that I want them in my office five minutes ago, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Maya responded.

"Good," Gendo said. "Remember to tell them exactly what I just told you. I want them in my office five minutes ago."

"Five minutes ago," Maya said. "Understood, sir!"

"Good," Gendo said. "Now, go!"

"Yes sir!" Maya squeaked and fled the office.

"No wonder she sounded spooked when she found us," Ritsuko commented when she and Fred returned to the lighted area near Gendo's desk.

"If I were to make such a patently outrageous demand," Gendo said, "I would have to be angry when doing so."

"She did say you sounded annoyed," Fred agreed.

"Now, with two of your fighters here, are you going to need special parking?" Gendo asked.

"I've got perfectly good parking on the roof of my apartment building," Fred said, "as long as we don't get any shit from the management or the city. Of course, the boys will probably want somewhere nice here on base when I'm working and Miri's teaching any fighter jocks you have left how to not get killed."

"We've never wasted fighters on the Angels," Gendo said. "Our YAGR-3Bs are the only aircraft Nerv uses."

"Those multipurpose tilt-jet things?" Fred asked. "I noticed the hardpoints on yours have been sealed. Why would anyone fly a perfectly good gunship without weapons?"

"The military would not let us have them unless they had been converted to civilian form," Gendo said. "Of course, the hardpoints are easily re-converted."

"Of course," Fred said. "The best I could mount on them is lasers or light particle cannons, but that would at least give them some small amount of defensive ability."

"Small amount,' Ritsuko grumbled.

"But, we should let that go until we've finished with the mods for Rei and Yui," Fred said. "Since they're our front-line troops, they are the ones who need the most effective weaponry."

"In the meanwhile, you have mods to install right now, I believe," Gendo said.

Fred tilted his head for a moment, then nodded. "Yup. Should be long enough by the time we get back to the maintenance bay."

"We're not …," Ritsuko started.

"Nope, no need to worry about that," Fred laughed. "We're going back the old-fashioned way. It'll give the power coupling time to finish setting up." He paused, then called out, "Miri having fun, Max?"

"Sure is," Max replied. "Her and Manfred are buzzing around that thing like an angry hornet."

"Sounds good to me," Fred said, grinning. "Why don't you drop the plutonium canisters on the roof of my apartment, then drop in here? I could use some bigger hands moving pieces parts around."

"Sure thing," Max said. "I got the address, should be there in a minute or two. How do I get to where you are?"

"Use one of the Eva launch shafts," Fred said. "They're big enough for something the size of a kaiju, so there's more than enough room for you to come down."

"Sounds good," Max said. "I'll be there soon enough."

"While you're at it," Ritsuko grumbled, as the door to Gendo's office closed behind them, "why not invite the world in?"

"That would be stupid," Fred said. "Pointless, too. Trust me, you'll be glad when Max is down here. He's a lot better at handling the heavy lifting than most of your cranes and hoists." He looked into the distance, while keeping in step with Ritsuko. _"How's Shinji doing, love?"_

_"He is awake,"_ Rei answered. _"He is feeling guilty for being injured, despite my attempts to reassure him that what happened was not his fault and could not have been predicted."_

_"That's our Shinji,"_ Fred thought. _"Shinji? You feel up to getting back into Yui later? Rei's still having some trouble with fine control in Unit 00, so we need you to play sniper."_

_"Play sniper?"_ Shinji asked. _"What do you mean?"_

_"Your father picked up a rifle that should be big enough to take out that homicidal bastard,"_ Fred thought, _"and he trusts you to be the one capable of taking the shot. Only problem is, the damned thing is a single-shot rifle, so if you miss on the first shot, you're going to have to reload it by hand before you get a second shot."_

_"So I need to make the first shot count?"_ Shinji thought. _"I take it that you tried to talk to it?"_

_"I did,"_ Fred thought, letting a growl escape him that caused Ritsuko to give him a worried look. _"As soon as it figured out that Lilith is here, it got excited about killing us all. It doesn't want to be reasonable. It just wants to murder everyone."_

_"I don't like this,"_ Shinji thought, then sighed heavily. _"But if Father thinks I have the best chance to succeed, I kind of have to, don't I?"_

_"I can do it if you are not comfortable with it,"_ Rei thought. _"But Master is right. It is not easy to move a body that is so much larger than this one, and the sensations I get when I am Unit 00 are distracting. I could easily miss the target and damage a part of the city without intending to."_

_"Then I'll pull myself together,"_ Shinji thought. _"Tell Father I'll be ready."_

_"I will attend to that,"_ Rei thought. _"I intend to meet Max when he lands."_

_"How did you know he was coming?"_ Fred thought, surprised.

_"I listened to the radio traffic,"_ Rei thought, a hint of amusement coloring it. _"Max sounds like an interesting person."_

_"That's what all the girls say,"_ Fred teased, chuckling.

"What is it with you?" Ritsuko growled. "First you're growling, now you're laughing. Are you talking with Ayanami?"

"Yup," Fred grinned. "Shinji's getting ready for tonight's fireworks, and Rei's planning to meet Max when he lands."

"He's awake?" Ritsuko asked, giving Fred an undisguised look of relief. "I was … I mean, it would be bad to lose our best pilot."

"Uh-huh," Fred snorted. "Give it up, Rit-chan. You care about the kids, just like I do. Why pretend you don't?"

"I, uh, SEELE," Ritsuko managed to stammer.

"Yeah, they're a pain in the ass," Fred agreed. "Gotta work out how to lure them here so we can feed them to something unpleasant. I wonder if your local demons are as reasonable as the ones back home."

"Our local demons?" Ritsuko asked, gaping at Fred in that old familiar expression of concern that he had gone mad.

"Yeah," Fred said, while reaching for the door to the maintenance bay. "Gotta come up with something appropriate for the old bastards."

Inside the maintenance bay, the technicians were still pouring water over the mold. Fred stopped ten feet away from it and nodded. "Looks good so far. Now to finish the job. I'm going to have to set up conductive MacManusite down the center of the system, so let's see what the specs for the rifle's power input looks like."

"You are a strange, strange man," Ritsuko said softly, while recovering the rifle's specs. "Here. Here's the power input."

Fred studied the plans for a few moments, then nodded. "We're good, then." He began another batch of MacManusite and arranged a smaller mold atop one of the halves of the connector. As the molten plastic poured into the smaller mold, he fired energy into the liquid, causing it to glow along the entire length of the mold, from the extensions that formed the probes, to the link fittings at the other end that would link it to the Eva's power system. While he was managing the new pour, a mecha in gerwalk mode dropped in via one of the lift shafts, landed, and transformed into battroid mode. The newcomer was gleaming white, with a yellow strip, inside of a black strip, where the collar of a shirt would be on a human, and a black blast shield with Jolly Roger in the center over the canopy.

"Hey, Max!" Fred called. "Want to lend a hand here? I need the other half of this ready to drop into place when the conductor is skinned over enough for me to remove the mold."

"All set, Dad," the mecha replied, picking up the other half of the connector and holding it at the ready. "You weren't kidding about these passages being big enough for kaiju to travel through. Yeah, Mom and Manfred are still playing with the octahedron. I think they're pissing it off. Its aim is getting kind of erratic."

"Damn," Fred said. "We'll have to tell them to back off soon, then. I want its aim to be dead on when it's time to use this toy." He lifted off the ground and floated above the connector, attaching cables to the pieces of mold. "Ritsuko! How good are your guys at a precision extraction?"

"What do you mean?" Ritsuko asked. She noticed her crew were all staring at the mecha – not that she could complain, given that it looked exactly like something from an anime she had heard of that dated back to before she was born.

"I mean," Fred said, "when I give the word, I need the pieces of mold snapped out of here like they're on springs, so Max can slap the other half in place before the rest of the MacManusite sets up."

"That's easy enough," Ritsuko said, and began barking orders to her crew. Within a minute, she had them in place, holding the ends of the cables. "Ready!"

"All right, then," Fred said. "Ready, Max?"

"Ready," the mecha said. Ritsuko had trouble with the idea of a robot sounding so human.

"OK, on three, then," Fred said. "One! Two! Three!"

The techs jerked on the cables, and the pieces of mold swung free. The mecha slammed the half of the connector it was holding down onto the other half, and Fred moved along the length, using his finger lasers to polish the edges of the seam, which quickly sealed as if the connector had been molded in a single piece.

"Looks good, everyone," Fred said. "Thanks. Now we just have to fit it to Yui's armor. How's she doing, by the way?"

"We sent new armor to the cage while you and Akagi-san were with the Commander," one of the techs reported. "Ibuki-san said Unit 01 was almost fully regenerated."

"Good," Fred said. "Ritsuko, do you want a lift, or do you want to walk to the cage?"

"In _that?_ " Ritsuko asked, looking up at the mecha.

"In _him_ , yes," Fred replied. The way he grinned at her seemed like a challenge.

"All right," Ritsuko growled. "In _him_."

"Cool," Fred said. "Max, let her in, eh? I'll fly along with you. We can get this to the cage easier if you carry it."

"Works for me," Max said, picking up the hundred feet of newly-made Eva-sized cable with dual-pronged plug on one end and exposed contacts on the other.

Fred landed, picked up the module he had called his Ravenfield generator, balanced it on his head, and floated into the air, turning black as he left the floor. While he was doing that, the quad-barrel "head" on top of the mecha tilted back, and a pilot's seat rose on rails. Ritsuko looked up at the mecha, grumbling. She just knew that even if there were a ladder to help her get into the pilot's seat, every single person on her staff would take advantage of the opportunity to look up her skirt.

"Need a lift?" the mecha asked, sinking to one knee and putting a hand on the floor, palm-up. "Don't worry, I have lots of experience at helping pretty girls into my cockpit."

"I'm sure you do," Ritsuko snarked, as she sat on the mecha's hand. It lifted her into position so she could step across and strap herself in. As the seat sank into the cockpit, she heard the mecha chuckling.

"Making friends already, eh, Dad?" the mecha chuckled.

"Rit-chan?" Fred laughed. "She's a friend, yes, but she's not the one. Even if she were vulnerable to my dubious charms ( _He's got that right!_ Ritsuko thought.), she has someone here who loves her already. You know I never come between people who love each other. You OK in there, Ritsuko?"

"I'm all right," Ritsuko said, distracted, as she watched the cockpit light up with displays that covered the entire arc of her vision, while still leaving the view of the outside world as clear as if there were no blast shield over the canopy. _"As annoying as he is, I think I can believe him. Even if he were the kind of person who would try to come between lovers, I can't believe he would have put all that effort into bringing me and Maya together if he intended to seduce either of us. Gah! How can someone be so damned annoying while at the same time being so decent?"_

"It's Dad," the mecha chuckled, apparently only inside the cockpit. "He has a special talent for it."

"What?" Ritsuko blurted.

"Sorry," the mecha said. "You were thinking awfully loud. So who's Maya?"

"She's my second in command," Ritsuko said. "She's … how does he do it? He knew she was in love with me before I did, and he maneuvered me into facing her … in to facing my own feelings. I … damn it! I can't have both!"

"Why not?" the mecha asked. "If that's what you want, why not claim them both?"

"And be like him?" Ritsuko snorted. "I'm not going to collect a harem."

"Actually," the mecha snickered. "I think they have him. And a good thing, too. Before Mom came along, Dad's entire existence revolved around us. Building us, watching over us, and watching over the Earth. He built Laputa to prepare for alien contact, you know. It was only after he built it that it became a refuge for the supernatural population."

"Laputa?" Ritsuko asked. "He mentioned being the prince of Laputa. So Laputa is his version of Nerv?"

"Not quite," the mecha said. "Laputa's purpose was to provide aliens a place to peacefully meet and trade with humans. We've done a pretty good job of it so far."

"Why do you say his wives have him?" Ritsuko asked.

"You could start," the mecha said, "with the fact that they all love each other almost as much as they love Dad. So they don't depend on him for anything, not really. Instead, they're like a collective, with him as their focus. Beyond that, you'll just have to see how they act when they're together. Watch Mom and Rei, for instance. You'll see."

"If you had a face, it would probably have one of those secretive smiles Rei's been sporting the last couple days," Ritsuko grumbled.

"Probably," the mecha agreed. Ritsuko wished she could get away with throwing something at the cockpit's displays.

 

Fred floated down to Yui's shoulders and landed on the top of the upper restraints.

"Anyone want to give me a hand with hooking this up?" Fred called, once he had touched down.

"What do you need, MacManus-san?" Maya asked, while the other techs stared at him in shock.

"We need to plug this into Yui's main buss," Fred said. "Preferably near the backup battery. Max will be along shortly with the power cable for the rifle. If we can, we should connect that near the tether. How did you know it was me?"

"I saw what you did when Ramiel hurt them," Maya said. "You did exactly what I wished I could do. I just wish it had been as effective as you wanted it to be."

"So do I," Fred said softly. "So do I."

Maya ordered several techs to follow her, and within moments, they had removed a section of Unit 01's armor, above the entry plug hatch. Fred landed with the module and worked with the others to wire it in, reassuring them that the strange sparkly plastic that made up the module's connectors was just as effective at conducting power as any of Unit 01's cables.

Once the module was wired into position, and the armor restored to its proper place, Fred and Maya stood back on the gantry and looked up at Unit 01's armored head.

"She's a brave woman," Fred commented. "I wonder if any of you realize just how lucky you are."

"Huh?" Maya asked, giving Fred a confused look.

"Yui," Fred said. "Everything she does, to protect Shinji, all the pain she goes through, and she just keeps on going."

"Yui?" Maya asked. "The Commander's wife? But she's dead!"

Fred chuckled.

"Any time you're done flirting with Dr. Akagi's sweetheart, we could use some help, Dad," a strange mecha called down from the spot Fred had landed on when he first arrived.

Maya stared up at it in shock. "That looks like a Valkyrie! I thought those were fictional!"

"There's no doubt this thing is yours," Ritsuko's voice said from the mecha. "It has your dubious sense of humor."

"Oh yeah," Fred said, grinning shamelessly. "He's my son, all right. Yui, can you bend forward far enough for us to get at your tether, or are they going to have to remove your restraints first?" He turned to give Maya a cold glare. "And whose head do I get to boot for shackling her like that?"

The loudspeaker on Unit 01 suddenly squealed with feedback, and then a voice Maya had only heard in recordings suddenly came from it.

"It's all right, Fred," Yui Ikari said, through Unit 01's loudspeaker. "They actually make it easier for me to relax while I'm watching over Shinji and Gendo. They support this body so I don't have to when I'm exploring the network. It's all right, Ibuki-chan. Thank you for everything you've done for me since you got here. Now I think if Ritsuko-chan would authorize removing my restraints, I could bend forward enough you could get to my tether. It would help if I could brace on something so I stay steady while you're working, since I'm still feeling a little unsteady from that hole in my chest."

"How about if we move the gantry forward a bit, but still keep it close enough that you can brace on it?" Fred asked.

"That would work," Yui said. "You'll have to drain the cage in order to do any work at the tether level, though. Unless you and your son plan to do the work yourselves, that is."

"I like her, Dad," the mecha commented. "Too bad we can't bring her home with us."

"She belongs here," Fred said, "the same way I belong back home."

"But thank you for the compliment," Yui said. "I do appreciate it."

"What do you think, Ritsuko?" Fred asked. At least he didn't use that 'Rit-chan' she'd grumbled about yesterday. Maya thought if he did, she might have slapped him.

"Do you think the two of you can manage the work?" Ritsuko asked.

Fred flowed like liquid, his smiling face, hair, and lab coat replaced by what looked like a sleek pressure suit with reflective faceplate.

"We can have it done in just a few minutes," Fred said. "Your choice whether you stay here or watch from Max's cockpit."

"I'll stay here, where I can watch you," Ritsuko said. "Maya, would you release the upper restraints, and have the gantry retracted far enough that Unit 01 can bend forward and rest against it?"

"Yes – yes, ma'am!" Maya replied, and ran for the control booth. Once she was there, she sent out the order, and all the techs in the cage retreated while the restraints began unlocking. Once the upper restraints were unlocked, the gantry began moving away from Unit 01's head, and its arms rose from the LCL, then rested against the bridge, like it was using them to cradle its head as it leaned forward. Once the Eva was in position, and the mecha and Fred were in the LCL, Maya sat and stared out the window at Unit 01, her mind threatening to tilt. Unit 01 was Yui Ikari? But how? It didn't make any sense! On the other hand, that would explain why Shinji was able to synchronize with it so easily, and it would explain the Eva's refusal to eject the entry plug two days before, until the incident with Captain Katsuragi had taken place. But it was just so wrong! How could it have happened? What would have caused something like that to happen?

"You know," the speaker in the control booth said, in Yui's voice, "You can always ask. Ritsuko-chan and Gendo only found out two days ago, so it's not as if they've been deliberately keeping you out of the loop. I suspect they're still trying to come to grips with it, too."

"How?" Maya asked, her mind whirling too much to come up with anything else.

"Do you remember what the reports say of how I died?" Yui asked.

"You were doing something with Unit 01, and your body just dissolved," Maya said.

"That's right," Yui said. "My body dissolved because my soul was absorbed by Unit 01. You see, when we create them, the Evangelion have no souls. So, in order to give them souls, we can either trust to random chance, which could give us an Eva with a potentially hostile soul, or we can perform what Nerv refers to as a 'contact experiment'. Mine was the first. Sadly, they hadn't truly worked out why mine worked so well before trying it in Germany."

"So, Unit 02 has the soul of Langley's mother in it?" Maya asked.

"That's right," Yui said. "Or, at least, part of her soul. You know she survived her contact experiment, which implies that the transfer was either a failure, or incomplete. Given that Asuka-chan is able to pilot her Eva, my only conclusion is that the transfer was incomplete, that her Eva received those parts of Doctor Zeppelin that were best suited to protecting Asuka, and what was left – the insane mother – were the parts that were incapable of caring for her as she needed."

"But, why?" Maya asked. "Is it so important that the Evangelion have souls?"

"Is it so important that any person have a soul?" Yui asked. "The soul is what makes us who we are. Look at Unit 00. Until Rei inhabits it, it has no soul. It is incapable of protecting Rei the way I protect Shinji. Unit 00 is the equivalent of a coma patient without Rei, and with her, it is only what she can make of it. It does not have a soul to give it life, or to watch over and protect Rei when she is in danger. I know my husband created Rei in hopes that he could bring me back, but now that he knows he cannot, my hope is that she can be free to become her own woman."

"If MacManus-san has anything to say about it," Maya grumbled, then trailed off, blushing.

"Yes," Yui agreed, her voice sounding happy. "If Fred has anything to say about it, Rei will blossom the same way you have since your talk with Ritsuko yesterday. Can I take it that she finally admitted she returns your love?"

"She … doesn't know," Maya said softly. "She didn't even realize I love her until MacManus-san spelled it out for her. Am I really that unappealing?"

"This is Ritsuko we're talking about," Yui chuckled. "If it doesn't involve her computers, she wouldn't notice a four-alarm fire going off around her. She's going to need you to guide her, if you want any hope of things working out."

Maya had to laugh. Yui was so right, it was almost painful. She remembered all the many times she'd tried to hint to Ritsuko, only to have her respond as if she hadn't even heard the hint. God, Hyuga and Aoba must think she was so pathetic!

"What's wrong, Maya-chan?" Yui asked, the sympathy in her voice so incongruous when Maya considered its source. "I felt a burst of unhappiness."

"I was just thinking of how I must look to everyone around me," Maya moaned miserably.

"Mostly like a girl whose sweetheart can't be bothered to notice her," Yui said. "Aoba and Hyuga have been plotting how to get Ritsuko to notice you for several days. They already realized the only way to get her to notice you was to upload you onto her personal terminal, and since no one has come up with technology to do that, they had begun to give up on that idea."

"You mean," Maya asked hopefully, "they don't think I'm pathetic?"

"Far from it," Yui chuckled. "They're frustrated because Ritsuko's a woman. If she were a man, they would have already beaten her up for being so mean to you."

Maya chuckled at the thought of her two bridge partners beating up anyone, let alone Ritsuko. The chuckle progressed to laughter, and Maya leaned back in her chair, feeling the laughter sweep away all the funk that had been building up for the last couple weeks. When she finally ran down, she wiped her eyes and smiled out at Unit 01.

"Thank you, Yui-san," Maya said. "Would it be all right if I came down to chat with you now and then?"

"I'd be very happy if you did," Yui said. "It's been so long since I've had a chance for girl talk, it feels like it's been forever." She paused for a couple seconds. "It feels like they're done working. They should be surfacing any moment."

Just then, the LCL behind Yui churned, and the mecha rose into the air, followed by Fred. Maya smiled when she realized she had thought of Unit 01 as Yui, and her smile broadened when the mecha landed on one of Yui's shoulders, while Fred landed on the other.

"I'd really rather Max get a shower before he opens up and lets you out," Fred said. "Unless you like the idea of LCL raining down on your head before you can get out of the way."

"We have a vehicle decon station," Ritsuko said, surprising Maya with her lack of rancor. Fred must have done something right while they were under. "Go through that hatch behind you."

Fred turned, nodded, then patted Yui's arm. "How are you feeling, Yui?"

"Not bad," Yui said. "Maya and I have been talking. She's a nice girl. I would very much like to see her happy."

Maya giggled, anticipating the incoherent growling she was certain must be coming from Ritsuko as even Yui got into the act of trying to steer the two of them together. Her giggling stopped, and she stared out the window, stunned, when Ritsuko spoke.

"So would I," Ritsuko said. "I'm just not sure I'm good enough to make her happy. You know the things I've done. How can anyone with hands as dirty as mine be good enough for someone like her?"

"Don't you think that's for her to decide?" Yui asked. "You could have as much blood on your hands as my husband, and she would still love you. This is obviously not a casual infatuation."

"Just like you still love him, even knowing all he's done," Ritsuko said softly. She looked toward the control booth, thankful that Maya couldn't see her inside Max's cockpit. "She's worth it. I may not be worthy of her, but damn it, I'm going to try to make her happy regardless."

"That's the way to think," Yui said. "Go ahead and shower. Maya and I will make sure my supports are in place while you're gone."

"You know," Fred said, once Max had opened the hatch Ritsuko had pointed out, "it's easy to see why Gendo is so madly in love with you. You're an easy woman to love."

"I'm just me," Yui started, then stopped as Fred embraced her arm, in an area her armor didn't cover. As he did, his features transformed back from the pressure suit to his usual ponytail and lab coat. Once he had let go, he smiled up at her, then followed Max before she could get any words out.

"Yui?" Maya asked after she had spent nearly a minute staring at the gap in her armor in shock. "Are you all right?"

"I … I … he hugged me," Yui said softly.

"I would, too, if I were big enough," Maya said. "He's right, you know. You are an easy woman to love."

 

Fred stood on the roof of his apartment building, with Max beside him. Max's brother Manfred, in gleaming crimson, with the Iron Cross painted on his stabs, came down in gerwalk mode. Once his feet were on the roof, the jets shut off, the canopy slid back, and Miri clambered out. Just as she touched the roof, the hatch for Manfred's Javelin storage compartment slid open, and a red-furred cat tumbled out.

"Solid ground," the cat whimpered, as she clutched the roof with all four paws. "Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid I'd never feel solid ground under me again." She stopped, made a distressed mew, and emptied her stomach onto the roof.

"At least she didn't throw up in me," Manfred commented. "Vomit is so unpleasant to clean up."

Fred broke into laughter. "You managed to not bring Gil with, but got a kitten instead." He crouched by the cat and gently stroked her back. "Didn't you see Anno's Therapy Notes?"

"I did," the cat said weakly. "Shinji needs me."

Fred gaped, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, shaking his head. "Oh yeah, you're one of Ginger's, all right. Are they already starting to bug you, too?"

"Dad's already had to smack some," the cat said, while wobbling across the roof, still on all four paws. "I don't want to end up like mom!"

"Have you tried dying your fur?" Fred asked.

"It won't dye!" the cat wailed. "I got the blackest hair color I could, and it just ran off without sticking!"

"Ouch," Fred commiserated. "I hate it when magic fucks your life up like that."

"Where's Shinji?" the cat asked, just before her legs gave up carrying her and she plopped down on her belly.

Miri managed to avoid laughter, barely, while she removed bags from the storage compartment. Once she had removed every bag, she wrestled her Javelin out and crawled in. She returned after a minute, straddled the Javelin, and triggered its armor mode. Once it had transformed from motorcycle to personal armor, she used the boost in strength it gave her to pick up all her bags at once.

"Either you are the bravest kitten ever, or the most foolhardy," Miri said as she looked down at the cat. "Are you going to continue to try to walk under your own power, or do you want to ride on a shoulder?"

"A shoulder, please?" the cat whimpered. "I never thought it would be so unpleasant to be in … " She trailed off and dry-heaved. Fred crouched and helped the cat to his shoulder.

"That's why I teach new pilots how to manage the stress before I let them go out for a real fight," Miri said. "It can be very unpleasant if you don't know what you're doing, and don't have the right protective equipment."

"There's protective equipment?" the cat wailed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked," a voice from her collar replied.

"He's punishing me for sneaking away from home," the cat grumbled. "I just know it."

Fred and Miri looked at each other, each using supreme effort of will to refrain from laughter at the kitten's expense.

Fred stepped off the roof and floated down to his apartment balcony, leading the way for Miri. Pen-Pen looked up from where he was looking out over the lights of the city, saw the cat on Fred's shoulder, and humphed.

_"Why would you need one of those,"_ Pen-Pen grumbled, _"when I'm around?"_

"She's not your average cat," Fred replied, chuckling. "She's here for Shinji, anyway."

_"All right, all right,"_ Pen-Pen humphed. _"The kid needs all the help he can get."_

"Yup," Fred agreed. He gently put the cat down on the living room sofa, set the TV remote beside her, then returned to the balcony to take Miri's bags so she could get out of her armor. "Pen-Pen, this is my wife Miri. She's here to have a nice relaxing vacation, blowing up Angels."

_"You have a funny definition of relaxing,"_ Pen-Pen snorted.

"I hear that a lot," Miri said, giving Pen-Pen a smile.

_"Oh dear,"_ Pen-Pen said. _"She has the Ayanami smile."_

"Yup," Fred said, chuckling, as he began carrying bags through to his bedroom. "We're going to have to take off again as soon as the bags are stashed. Rei and Shinji are set up on Mt. Futago, waiting for us to get into position."

"What's our position?" Miri asked.

"Once Ramiel has hit Yui at least once," Fred said, "We're going to try to distract it so that Shinji can take his shot without its particle beam messing it up."

"Hopefully it will consider us enough of a threat to shoot at us, instead of them," Miri said.

"That's why Rei's there," Fred said. "If it doesn't, she'll do her best to distract it."

"They're both fitted with Ravenfields?" Miri asked.

"They are," Fred said. "I did Yui's first, since we needed to be sure she could power the rifle. Then I gave Rei hers before she carried the rifle up to the mountain. SEELE is not going to be happy. I just freed them from all the tethers and batteries they had hoped to tie them down with."

"Are you sure the Angels are the real threat?" Miri asked.

The cat tripped over her forepaws on her way past the bedroom door. She let out a frustrated mew, then shifted form, into a red-haired girl, about the same age as Rei and Shinji, with a figure like a dancer. She slid Shinji's door open, looked into his room, and shook her head.

"He hasn't even unpacked yet!" the girl complained. "How long has he been living with you?"

"Two days," Fred said, laughing. "Planning to move in with him?"

"Someone has to!" the girl protested. "Everyone around him just wants to use him and hurt him!"

_"Get the feeling someone has a crush?"_ Miri thought, doing her best to keep a smile from her lips.

_"Poor boy's not going to know what to do,"_ Fred thought back. _"She sounds like she inherited Alex's talent for overdoing the affection."_ Speaking aloud, he addressed the girl. "That's not the case anymore, although there's no such thing as too many friends. Just try not to scare him too badly, OK? He's still kind of jumpy. He nearly fainted when Rei asked him if she could join him for lunch at school."

"Oh my," the girl said. "Poor Shinji!"

"Why don't you see what you can do to have something ready when he gets home, eh?" Fred suggested. "He's going to be pretty tired after he's done with Ramiel."

"I can do that!" the girl said, all but quivering with eagerness.

"Remember, Cin," Miri said gently, "He doesn't know you yet. You'll have to be patient with him."

"Especially since the only redhead he knows about so far is Langley," Fred added.

The girl let out a hiss at Langley's name, and if she'd been in fur, Fred was certain it would have been accompanied by bared claws.

"She's just as damaged as Shinji is," Fred said gently. "We're going to be trying to heal her, too. Think you can manage that? Wouldn't you be impressing your Mom if you were able to do both?"

"But, but," Cin protested, the expression making it clear that Langley was not on her list of favorite people.

"You know your mom and dad are coming here, right?" Fred asked, to which Cin's face immediately shifted into an 'oh shit' expression. "Don't you think it would impress them both, especially your mom, if you were able to patch up Langley enough that she won't have to do nearly as much work? You're going to have weeks to do it, unless Amelia times it on her jump. Think you're a good enough healer to pull it off?"

"Mom and Dad are coming here?" Cin squeaked. "Oh shit, I am in _so_ much trouble! Umm, you think they won't be quite as mad if I can heal Shinji and Langley both? Yeah, Mom would appreciate not having to do as much work, but I don't know if I _can_ fix Langley. She's a maniac!"

"A maniac whose mom committed suicide when she was how old?" Fred asked, "And left her body for Asuka to find? I don't know about you, but if my only parent were to do something like that, even if she had been utterly batshit before killing herself, I'd be pretty messed up from finding her."

"Yeah," Cin whispered, looking down. "Yeah. If something like that happened to Mom, I'm not sure I'd ever get over it. But these people kept pushing her, so of course she went crazy herself." She looked up with a determined expression. "I'll do it. I'll take care of Shinji and Asuka, whatever it takes."

"That's the spirit," Fred said, and grinned at Cin. "How much practice have you had at cooking? Think you can come up with something simple for all of us while we're out killing Ramiel? I know for a fact that Rei and Shinji both missed dinner, because Shinji was in the hospital, and Rei was helping Gendo pick up the rifle they're using."

"Gendo? What about Misato?" Cin asked, confused.

"She's doing inpatient detox right now," Fred said. "She kind of lost it and tried to kill Gendo the day before yesterday. Yui wouldn't let her keep Shinji in her place, and Gendo backed Yui up."

"Good!" Cin exclaimed. "I'm surprised she still has any functioning brain cells."

"We all are," Edgar commented. "Rei's still new to the whole meat thing, so maybe something vegetarian, or using a bland fish, would be a good plan."

"She's willing to try meat?" Cin asked. "Wow! OK, I'll do something simple. Have they had pasta before?"

"Let's try something different," Fred suggested. "Shinji just spent three weeks eating cup ramen. I think he'd appreciate something that didn't have the taste or texture of noodles."

"Oh!" Cin said, blushing. "You're right. You don't mind what I make?"

"Go for it," Fred said. "You can use whatever you find. Pen-Pen can point stuff out, too." He raised his voice and called, "Right, Pen-Pen?"

Pen-Pen poked his head out of his refrigerator. _"What?"_

"You can point stuff out in the kitchen if Cin asks, right?" Fred said. "She's going to fix dinner while we're out shooting up that Angel."

_"Oh, sure,"_ Pen-Pen said. _"Who's Cin?"_

"Me," Cin said, waggling her fingers at Pen-Pen. "I'm the cat you complained about."

_"Oh,"_ Pen-Pen said. He looked Cin over, then humphed. _"As long as you're here to take care of the boy, we're good. I like him. I wish Misato had been better for him."_

"So do I," Fred said. "Are you two going to be OK?"

"Yes," Cin said.

_"As long as she doesn't try anything,"_ Pen-Pen said, giving Cin a suspicious look.

"We'll be fine," Cin said, fixing her gaze on Pen-Pen. "You, show me where he keeps stuff."

Fred rolled his eyes and led Miri back to the balcony. "Give me a minute to make sure the gun pods are loaded before you come up."

"You have something special planned?" Miri asked.

"I had Max bring some plutonium," Fred said. "No point in not giving the Angels our best, after all."

"Right," Miri said, shaking her head and chuckling. "I'll just stay down here until you're done. Plutonium. You must be expecting some heavy opposition."

"You know how hard Ramiel's AT field is," Fred said, as he floated over the edge of the roof. "I don't know if the extra punch will be enough to get through, but it's worth trying."

 

Shinji and Rei stood atop Mt. Futago, with all the various Nerv support vehicles hidden behind the peak and upper ridges. Shinji studied the rifle Gendo had managed to acquire from the JSSDF, and looked over the extra reading in his displays, where he could see the rifle's power draw, as well as the constant feed of energy that had not been there on the tether.

"Did you notice the new energy readings?" Shinji asked Rei.

"I did," Rei answered. "If this is what we are absorbing outside of combat, we will never have to operate on the tethers again."

"I think you're right," Shinji said. "He did say this Ravenfield would absorb any energy that hits us, right? That's why he wants me to let Ramiel hit me again."

"That is my assumption as well," Rei said. "I am to distract it after it has hit you once, so you can aim without distraction. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," Shinji said. "Here I go."

Shinji began walking toward the city, holding the rifle in both hands as if it were some poisonous serpent. He made it half-way down the mountain before Ramiel opened fire, striking Yui in the middle of the chest and causing her to turn as black as Fred did when flying.

"Are you all right, Shinji?" Rei asked, curiosity coloring her voice despite her restrained wording.

"This is amazing, Ayanami!" Shinji said, just short of shouting with excitement. "I saw it hit, but all it did was give me enough power that I could fire the rifle five or six times! Would you grab some of the fuses, just in case I need to take more than one shot? We need pockets!"

"Or bandoliers, at the very least," Rei agreed. "I will pick up some fuses. If you can find a place to set up, you should be able to hit it easily with no more than three shots?"

"Unless its beam can deflect my shot, the program should zero me in on the first," Shinji said. "Three fuses should be more than enough."

"I have the fuses," Rei said. While Yui stretched out on a level patch of ground, Rei walked up, carrying a fuse in each hand, and stood over her.

"All set?" Fred called. "We saw the shot."

"We are ready," Rei said. "If you would begin distraction operations, Shinji can attempt his shot."

"Oh yeah," Fred laughed, and the sky over Tokyo 3 began to light up with streaks of ionic fire.

When Rei zoomed in, she saw two fighters – one white and one red – swooping and spinning around the Angel, transforming from fighter to a half-fighter form with the engines forming legs, then back to fighter again as they peppered Ramiel with shots from gun pods that each held like a submachine gun when in half-fighter form. Ramiel's AT field flared every time a shot hit it, whether from the gun pods or the lasers. The lasers stopped at the field, but the gun pod shots went through and left deep scorches in Ramiel's form. Ramiel fired back at the fighters, its shots cutting through the air where each had been just moments before.

"I believe you are clear to take your shot," Rei said. "The distraction operation is a success."

"Targeting computer online," Shinji said, distracted, as he lined up the rifle. "Focusing on Ramiel now …."

The rifle flared, a beam blasting from the muzzle and reaching out to Ramiel. It struck the AT field, which shattered as if torn apart by Yui's rage, then punched through the Angel and out the far side.

"Nice shot!" Fred called. "That's one murderous sonofabitch who won't be threatening anyone any more."

"I got it?" Shinji asked, surprised.

"On the first shot," Fred said.

"You hit it," Rei said. "I will return the fuses."

"Dinner will be ready when we get home," Fred said. "We're having red beans and rice. I didn't know … nevermind. I haven't had that in a while. How about you two?"

"Red beans?" Shinji asked. "Not adzuki beans?"

"That's right," Fred said. "It's an American recipe. Kind of spicy, but still pretty good. Definitely not like one of Misato's curries, though."

"That is a relief," Rei said. "Shinji has told me about Misato's curries. I would rather avoid that experience."

"And there's no meat in it, so it's safe for everyone," Fred said. "Commander? Do Rei and Shinji need to debrief tonight, or can they get a good night's sleep before debriefing?"

"It's late," Gendo said. "We're all tired. Let the night shift pack things up. We'll take care of debriefing tomorrow."

"Thank you," Fred said. "Rei, Shinji, once you're ready for pick-up, let me know and I'll bring you home. Yui … thanks. I'll see if I can do for you what I did for my second son. I can explain later, after you've had a chance to rest, too."

"I don't need to rest the way the kids do," Yui said, "but I appreciate the thought. If Edgar is willing to explain, I'd be happy to listen."

"I'd be glad to, Yui," Edgar said. "I know what Dad has in mind, because he did it for me, too, even though I don't take advantage of it as often as David does. I think I might worry Mom sometimes, with how little I take advantage."

"You do, Edgar," Miri said. "But I know someone else is watching over you, so I can worry less."

"Yes, she is," Edgar said. "And if Amelia is willing to help out, the two of us may take a vacation while we're here."

"That sounds like a good idea," Miri said. "You know Fred and I can manage with whoever fills in for you. Maybe not as well as we would with you, but we'll manage."

"It sounds as if you're saying Edgar is able to change bodies," Yui said.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Fred said. "We've found a way that a soul can change what body it occupies, as long as the spare body does not have a soul of its own. I did it first for my son David, whose primary body is a mainframe. Then I discovered it works for any of my synthetic children. And I can't see why it shouldn't work for you, if you're interested in trying it."

"I'll have to think about that," Yui said. "I'm in this body because I want to protect Shinji. I'm not sure I could do that effectively if I were anywhere else."

"We understand," Miri said. "There's no need to worry about it. Right now, all we should be worried about is getting back to Fred's apartment so we can eat and get some sleep."

"I believe that is practical," Rei said. "We are loading the Evas on their transport trucks now. We should be out of our entry plugs in a minute or two. Give us fifteen minutes to shower and change, and we will be ready to return home."

"That'll be perfect," Fred said. "Just let me know when you're ready. You hear that, Cin?"

"I did," Cin joined in. "Want me to make some tea to go with it?"

"Did you find my stash?" Fred asked.

"Of course!" Cin laughed. "Really, Uncle Fred, your collection of tea is as extensive as Aunt Elsie's collection of mead."

"Only that much?" Fred laughed in reply. "I'm going to have to find more teas, then."

"Pbbbt!" Cin declared.

"Umm, hi," Shinji said. "Fred didn't tell us we were having visitors."

"He didn't know," Cin said. "I kind of stowed away in Manfred when I heard Aunt Miri was coming here."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"I just had to meet Shinji," Cin said excitedly. "He's the coolest, and there's no way he deserves to be stuck with that … that … that …."

"Remember what we told you about her," Fred said gently.

"I know," Cin said, with just a hint of unhappiness in her voice. "I'll be good."

_"She sounds as if she has already decided she does not like Langley,"_ Rei thought.

_"That's right, love,"_ Fred replied. _"Her grandmother is the one who introduced Anno's Therapy Notes to everyone back home._ _Her feelings about Langley are colored by what was in that series. I reviewed it while you were sleeping last night, and … well, I understand why she would dislike Langley before meeting her."_

_"I hope this anime is as inaccurate regarding Langley as it was regarding Capt. Katsuragi,"_ Rei thought. _"It would not do to have hostility so close to home."_

_"I agree,"_ Fred thought. _"I hope that's the case, too."_

"Remember, Cin," Fred said, "if she's as messed up as you think, it'll be your job to heal her, not to condemn her. You won't be doing anyone any good if you can't do that. And you certainly won't be impressing your mom."

"This sucks," Cin grumbled. "I just wanted to be here for Shinji, and now I have to patch up Asuka, too."

"You wanted to be here for me?" Shinji asked, confusion filling his voice.

"Please do not stop while exiting your entry plug," Rei suggested. "It confuses the support staff and delays us from returning home."

"Oh! Sorry," Shinji said. "I just …."

"You can ask her in detail when we are home," Rei said. "For now, you should concentrate on showering and changing. I doubt that either she or Miri will appreciate the scent of LCL."

"Sorry," Shinji said. "I'll take care of that right now."

"It's OK," Cin said. "You don't have to apologize, Shinji. I know this is all probably really confusing."

"I – thank you," Shinji said, his voice betraying his confusion.

"We are ready, Master," Rei declared, shortly before her estimated fifteen minutes had expired.

"Rei," Gendo started, then let out a sigh. "We'll talk tomorrow, during your debriefing."

"Yes," Rei said.

Max and Manfred landed on the roof of Fred's apartment. After studying the way the armor plate sagged slightly, they moved until each was supported by different structural supports, before allowing Fred and Miri to exit their cockpits.

"It'll be just a minute," Fred said, as he stepped off the edge of the roof, followed by Miri. "Max and Manfred were a little concerned about the strength of the building, it seems."

"The armor is strong, but if we stand too close together, we could cause it to buckle under our combined weight," Max said. "So, we gave ourselves enough separation to avoid that problem."

"A reasonable precaution," Rei said.

"All right," Fred said, once Miri had touched down on the balcony and followed him into the apartment. "Pick-up in five … four … three … two … one …."

Rei and Shinji appeared in the middle of the living room. As soon as they had materialized, Rei scanned the room, fixed her gaze on Miri, and silently studied her. Her regard was abruptly interrupted when a cry of "Shinji!" came from the kitchen door, followed a moment later by Cin. Rei moved automatically, shielding Shinji from the rapidly-approaching girl with her body.

"Cin, you're acting like a groupie," Fred said, while pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know what your grandma has to say about groupies."

"I am?" Cin sniffed, coming to a stop before she could bowl Rei over. "I just …," seeing Fred nod, she turned and fled to the kitchen.

"… I'm sorry," Shinji said.

"It's not your fault," Miri said. "She's just so excited she forgot her manners. Why don't you go talk to her? I think it'll make her feel better."

"Me?" Shinji asked, disbelieving.

"You," Miri said, and gave him a reassuring smile. "You're the reason she's here, after all."

"It is apparent that she sees you the way many of the girls in our class see idols," Rei said. "Perhaps time spent in your presence will cure her of that."

"Or reinforce it," Fred laughed. "I know her grandmother. This kind of behavior is pretty much normal for her. Go on, Shinji. The worst she could do is try to drag you into bed."

"The … worst?" Shinji asked, then swallowed, radiating enough nervousness to trigger anxiety attacks within a hundred yards. He looked toward the kitchen for a moment, then stood up straight and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Or the best, depending on how you look at it," Fred chuckled.

"You are not worried about Cin and Shinji," Rei said, "but you were worried about me. Why?"

"There's no danger of Shinji hurting Cin," Fred said, "except by rejecting her. I could hurt you without intending to, simply due to our different sizes."

"Do you mind if I demonstrate otherwise?" Rei asked Miri.

"Go ahead," Miri said. "Sometimes our man needs a reminder that we're not nearly as delicate as he was raised to believe."

Fred looked from Rei to Miri, then back again, swallowed, and whispered nervously, "How do I get into these situations?"

"Usually with both eyes wide open," Miri said, giving Fred an amused smile as Rei took his wrist and pulled him toward his bedroom. In the kitchen, the sounds of crying had died down. She sat on the sofa and relaxed, until a holographic image of Hokuto appeared above the coffee table. "Thank you for telling me, Hokuto. He really was being dense, but Rei had the sense to take matters into her own hands."

"I hope my educational materials help Rei," Hokuto said. "I like Rei."

"I see why," Miri said. "I'm proud of you for slowing down enough to not overwhelm her."

"Rei is not easily overwhelmed," Hokuto said. "I think it would be easier to overwhelm Master."

Miri chuckled and shook her head, smiling. "I see. Well, I think things will turn out for …." She trailed off, her eyes widening, and swallowed several times, while her breathing became more rapid and her heart began racing in response to the sensations she was feeling. "Hokuto, which educational materials did Rei view the most?"

"Let me check," Hokuto said. She dug through a collection of DVDs and SSDs, then smiled at Miri. "Rei was most interested in my submissive materials, and then my oral collection. She viewed other files, but I suspect that was just for indexing purposes. Partner's records say that Rei studied my submissive guides and deep-throating instructions most intensively. Partner's records also say that Rei requested assistance in wiping the record of her studies from her laptop when she was done."

"I … see," Miri whispered. "I'll … call back … later." She cut the connection and leaned back, whimpering, as the sensations of what Rei was doing to Fred echoed through her body, leaving her all worked up with no way to safely release as long as Cin and Shinji were in the kitchen.

Through the haze of built-up sensation and need, Miri became vaguely aware of Rei tugging her to her feet, then leading her into the bedroom and helping her out of her clothes. Sometime later, after she had been brought to release by both Rei and Fred, she lay, half-asleep, between them, and whispered, "Why?"

"I had tasted Master," Rei said, "and so I needed to taste you as well. In addition, I could feel the effect we were having on you, and I knew it would be cruel to not finish what I had started without intending to. Do we always have this effect on each other?"

"Only if we're close enough," Miri said.

"That's why," Fred said, "we either don't do anything unless the two who want to are the only ones at home at the time, or we expect that everyone will join in."

"So," Rei said, giving Miri a thoughtful look, "you knew that what I intended would affect you, but you chose to not join from the start. Why?"

"You needed to be free to show him that you are more than capable of handling him," Miri said. "If I were with you, there would always be some doubt that you could do it yourself, without any of the rest of us to help you." She smiled at Rei and reached over to caress her cheek. "You did an amazing job, hon. I doubt even Hokuto could complain."

Rei's eyes widened at the caress, then she smiled and pressed against Miri's hand, closed her eyes, and let out a soft sigh. Fred smiled and nuzzled Miri, then wrapped his arms around both women.

"If we're going to get any sleep at all, now's our chance," Fred said softly. Rei snuggled against Miri's side, pressing just as tightly as Fred was on the other side, and quickly fell asleep. Miri looked down at her with a loving smile, then turned to Fred, who stole a kiss as soon as she was looking his way. He whispered, "You were amazing, my love. Did the two of you cook this up in advance?"

"No need," Miri laughed softly. "I know you. Don't forget how I had to pin you down myself."

"I doubt I'll ever forget that," Fred chuckled. He kissed Miri again and whispered, "Sleep for you, too, my love."

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet Alone
> 
> Fred is not impressed. Neither is Yui. Or Ritsuko.

"There's no way to get her to stop, is there?" Ritsuko asked, while she and Fred took a break from studying Yui's readouts from the night before.

"She'd stop if I told her I don't want her," Fred said. "That, however, would be bad, on so many fronts I don't want to even imagine it."

"Including the fact that it would be a lie," Ritsuko commented, "and I get the feeling that for all your love of tricks, you don't lie well."

"I've been told that my lies are as transparent as vacuum," Fred said, grinning shamelessly.

"Do you think you could at least suggest to her that pushing too many buttons could be hazardous?" Ritsuko pleaded.

"I can suggest it to her," Fred said. "I think the problem is, she's starting to taste freedom, and has discovered she likes it. She especially likes tweaking Gendo, since she feels that she was nothing more than a tool for him before."

"We all were," Ritsuko said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. "If you hadn't come along, who knows what would have happened."

"Indeed," Fred said. He looked up at Yui and smiled. "What do you think, Yui?"

"I think," Yui said, "that I don't have much room to talk, given my enthusiastic participation in things up until my contact experiment. Hello, Maya-chan."

"Hello, Yui-san," Maya said as she walked out onto the bridge. She smiled up at Ritsuko and called, "Are you and MacManus-san planning to sit on Yui-san's shoulder all morning?"

"Only if you don't join her," Fred said, grinning and rising to his feet. "I need to dive in and see if there's any wear on Yui's leg armor from last night's events. No one bothered to do any real scans while they were helping her and Rei onto the truck, so it's up to me to make sure everything's still attached."

Maya gave Fred a grateful smile as she accepted his hand up onto Yui's shoulder. Once he was down on the bridge, he shifted into his pressure suit and dove into the LCL.

"So it's Yui-san, now, huh?" Ritsuko asked, smiling at Maya.

"It is," Maya said, returning the smile. "We spent time talking while you and MacManus-san were attaching her rifle cable. Do you plan to keep it, Yui-san?"

"Rei asked if you'd switch it to Unit 00," Yui said. "Since she didn't get a chance with it last night, she wants to try it, and since Shinji didn't seem to feel comfortable shooting Ramiel from a distance, I agreed that if you would swap it over, she could have it."

"I don't see a problem," Ritsuko said. "Of course, if the rifle had its own power supply, it wouldn't need to be plugged in like that."

"Given how small the draw was compared to the energy I absorbed when Ramiel shot me," Yui said, "I'm sure that would be relatively easy to accomplish."

"I'll talk with Fred about it when he's back up here," Ritsuko said. "In the meanwhile, why are you sitting so far away, Maya?" She held out a hand and gave her an inviting smile. "I don't know if I'll ever be good enough, but if you're willing to put up with my mistakes, I – "

Ritsuko didn't get a chance to go any farther before the impact from Maya's glomp knocked both of them into the LCL. They came up, sputtering for air. Ritsuko swam for the emergency ladder on the bridge and gave Maya a boost from behind as the younger woman began climbing. Once both were on the bridge, she collapsed, laughing.

"I take it … this means … your answer … is yes?" Ritsuko got out between gasps of laughter.

"I'm sorry!" Maya gasped, horrified at having ruined Ritsuko's outfit.

"Does that mean you don't want me?" Ritsuko asked, giving Maya an exaggerated look of sadness.

"What? No! I mean, yes! I mean – " Maya's stammering was cut off when Ritsuko caught her with both hands and kissed her firmly. Maya squeaked with surprise, then whimpered into the kiss and clung to Ritsuko as if she were drowning.

When they finally came up for air, Maya gazed up into Ritsuko's eyes and whispered, her voice filled with adoration, "I'm sorry I ruined your outfit."

"This?" Ritsuko laughed. "Didn't you ever notice when you were picking up my cleaning, that I have a dozen just like this in my closet?"

"I wasn't just imagining it?" Maya asked.

"I keep a spare in the locker room, too," Ritsuko said. "I've fallen into the LCL more times than I can count. I had to learn to keep spares." She kissed the tip of Maya's nose and whispered, teasingly, "It helps contribute to the myth of the perfect Dr. Akagi, who never makes any mistakes."

"You're perfect to me," Maya whispered in reply, her cheeks red as she wished the kiss had been on her lips instead of her nose.

"You'll get over that soon enough," Ritsuko teased, wrapped her arms around Maya, and hugged her tightly. "After all, you can't live with a woman for more than a few days without losing that illusion."

"I'll get over – you can't – ," Maya stopped and stared at Ritsuko, not sure she'd heard what she thought she had, but hoping beyond hope that she had. "Sempai?"

"My apartment is big enough, don't you think?" Ritsuko mused, glancing at Maya with a wicked gleam in her eye, enjoying the response she was getting from the younger woman. "Although I _will_ have to insist you stop calling me sempai after you move in. Koibito is so much more fitting, don't you think?"

"Koibito?" Maya stammered, stared at Ritsuko, then threw her arms around her, sobbing. "Ritsuko!"

"I'm here, Maya," Ritsuko said gently, while holding Maya tightly and running her fingers through her hair. "Why don't we go get cleaned up, and then go home for the day? I'm sure we can leave Yui and Unit 00 in Macmanus-san's hands."

"We'll be fine," Yui said. "I can tell Fred you had something urgent to take care of. He won't pry, as long as I tell him neither of you are in danger."

"He's weird that way," Ritsuko mused. "Annoying as hell, but he'd drop anything and come running if we were in trouble."

"Kind of like a brother, don't you think?" Yui said, chuckling. "Go on, you two, before anyone catches Maya crying in your arms and more rumors about the cold-hearted Dr. Akagi spurning her love start spreading."

" _More_ rumors?" Ritsuko asked, stunned.

"More rumors," Yui said. "You're the only person in NERV who never realized how much she loves you, so some people were certain you were deliberately spurning her, rather than simply being blind."

"I'm so sorry, Maya," Ritsuko whispered. "I was such a fool."

"It's OK, sem – koibito," Maya said, looking up and giving Ritsuko a devoted smile. "I'd endure anything to hear what you said today. I'm sorry people have been so unhappy with you. You don't deserve it."

"It seems I do," Ritsuko said, then touched a finger to Maya's lips when she began to protest. "No arguing today, my love. Today, we go home and lock ourselves away from the world."

Maya nodded and scrambled to her feet when Ritsuko released her, then held out both hands for Ritsuko, who took them and rose to her own feet.

"Yui-san, would you tell MacManus-san that he's in charge of maintenance for you and Unit 00?" Ritsuko requested as she led Maya toward the exit. "Since you're linked to the Magi, would you log it for me, too?"

"Already taken care of, Ritsuko-chan," Yui said. "I won't expect either of you until you feel up to returning. If Gendo has any questions, I'll take care of them."

"Thank you," Ritsuko said, as the door closed behind her and Maya.

"Yes, it's safe for you to come up now," Yui chuckled. "They're gone."

"Good," Fred said as he climbed out of the LCL. "Together, I hope?"

"Together," Yui said. "Ritsuko is taking Maya home. She left you in charge of making sure Unit 00 and I are fully maintained."

"Oh, good," Fred said. "Now I can make some upgrades without her watching over my shoulder."

"Rei asked if you would move the rifle's power feed from me to Unit 00," Yui said. "Ritsuko suggested that the rifle should get its own power supply."

"So NERV isn't returning it to Japan?" Fred asked.

"That one may be going back," Yui said, "but we have a sniper's rifle in the armory, that we didn't use last night because it has less than half the power that one did."

"Neut anymeur," Fred said, in an outrageously bad pseudo-French accent, while cackling and rubbing his hands together.

"You know," Yui said, "You're rather frightening when you do that. Where is Miri? I was hoping to meet her in person."

"She's out examining Ramiel," Fred said. "Go figure. She comes for a vacation, and her first full day here, she's examining a corpse."

"So her regular job is coroner, not fighter pilot?" Yui asked.

"Partly," Fred said. "Actually, she does more than just medical examinations. One of her most interesting investigations was one where she proved that the American government had implemented a variation of Operation Northwoods, with us as the target. Embarrassed the hell out of them. Manfred had to rescue her from the assassins. Naturally, the Americans used Manfred's rescue as 'proof' that she was part of a Laputan conspiracy to subvert American justice."

"It sounds as if your America is as bad as our SEELE," Yui said.

"It is," Fred said. "Maybe worse. On my world, Laputa is the only nation as powerful as America, so the Americans had twenty years to get used to running roughshod over the rest of the planet before we came along."

"They didn't have to hide what they were doing?" Yui asked. "You're right, that does sound worse. Sometimes I think the only thing that's saved us from SEELE so far is the fact that they have to operate in secret."

"So it seems from the files," Fred said. He patted Yui's shoulder and asked, "Aren't you tired of wearing your limiters?"

"If I didn't let them keep them on me, they'd be more frightened of me than they already are," Yui said. "So I don't make a fuss about them. One of these days, I'll need to lose them, but now is not the time."

"Think you'll need help then?" Fred asked.

"Not likely," Yui said. "They're not much of a limit now, so I'm sure when the day comes that I need to dispose of them, it'll be as simple as blowing them off my shoulders."

"I've seen what happens when a goddess removes her limiters," Fred said. "Compared to that, the people here have nothing to worry about. You, at least, have a human soul."

"I could point out all the human souls that are plotting our downfall," Yui chuckled.

"So true," Fred laughed. "OK, let's see what we can do without making dramatic changes to your armor. I think adding the Ravenfield is as dramatic as Gendo can handle right now."

"I'm sure we're both mostly healed," Yui said. "That's the advantage to bathing in LCL. I've noticed you seem to prefer working mostly in plastic, so I'm not sure what you can do with our armor, without replacing it entirely."

"And, honestly, right now your armor is just for show," Fred said. "The Ravenfield stops anything that could hurt you, as long as you don't go bathing in corrosive substances like a friend of mine seems to do on a regular basis. With her, it's bad enough that her wife has made 'no armor, no nookie' a standing rule."

"No armor, no nookie?" Yui asked. "Does she often charge into battle without her armor?"

"She did until her wife established the rule," Fred said, chuckling. "She's a puppy, though, regardless of her age, so it's not surprising."

"A puppy," Yui repeated. "You have some interesting friends, Fred."

"Thank you," Fred said, grinning up at her. "So, you got everything you need for now? I'd better go take a look at Unit 00. She didn't crawl around on the ground like you did last night, but she could have been banged up when they loaded her onto her truck."

"Go ahead," Yui said. "I'm fine. There's a soap opera coming on soon that I plan to tune in to."

"Oh dear," Fred teased. "Soap operas? A brilliant scientist like you, reduced to watching soap operas?"

"Well, it's not as if anyone makes laboratories in my size," Yui said. "So, I take my distractions where I can get them."

"OK, definitely need to have Amelia load up some special gear," Fred said. "It'll be a few weeks, but I should be able to help you with that laboratory problem soon."

"Whatever you say," Yui said.

Fred chuckled as he left the cage.

 

The sound of an unaccompanied cello drifted from the apartment. Fred took Miri's hand and landed on the balcony, his eyes closed as he listened with undisguised pleasure.

_"Can you believe,"_ Fred thought, _"he believes he's not very good? Just listen to that!"_

_"_ _He sounds like_ _Yo-Yo Ma,_ _but believes he isn't good? Poor boy_ _,"_ Miri thought back, joining in the smile.

The couple put their bags of groceries down, leaving the bags enclosed in Ravenfields, and settled into a chair on the balcony, where Fred cuddled Miri as they listened to the music.

The music ended, and there was silence for a few seconds.

"Wow," Cin said, once she found her voice. "That sounds even better in person. If you were a girl, Grandma would be trying to recruit you for her band."

"If I were a girl?" Shinji asked, the confusion obvious even without being able to see his face.

"Yeah," Cin said. "Grandma's got a band that's all girls. They've been together since they were in school. Well, except Eve, but she's not a regular member, she just sings with them sometimes. They're pretty popular, especially in the Underground."

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"America is a fascist theocratic dictatorship, back home," Cin said. "Anyone who's not pure human, or who has any kind of supernatural abilities, is an enemy of the state, simply for existing. There's a pretty big Underground, mostly because the government brainwashes any supernaturals and non-humans they don't kill, and uses them as agents for the Department of State Security."

"It sounds awful," Shinji said.

"Yeah," Cin said. "Luckily, the only real effect it has on us in Laputa is they keep sending us practice dummies, and every so often they Banish Uncle Fred. I still don't know why he insists we can't just go in and wipe out the DSS. It's not like there's anyone innocent there."

"But they're still people," Shinji said.

"Yeah, but if you let people get away with trying to kill you," Cin said, "sooner or later they're going to kill someone who can't protect against them, and it'll be your fault for not stopping them when you could have."

"But if you can stop them without – " Shinji protested.

"Then you should always try to stop them without," Cin agreed. "Just because some people are so evil they can't be stopped without recycling them doesn't mean you have to give up and become just as evil. It's always better to try to stop them without taking the last step."

"Thank you," Shinji said softly. "I was afraid that nobody understood."

"You'd be amazed," Cin said. "Even Uncle Fred understands, it's just that anyone who makes it to him is almost always someone who everyone else has tried to stop before, and failed."

"So he never even gets a chance to try to save them?" Shinji gasped. "That sounds awful."

"I think it is," Cin said. "I think it's a big part of why he hates anything that pulls him out of his lab. He knows he's going to have to kill someone, and he hates it."

"Smart girl," Fred whispered to Miri. "She's figured out something that I think even some of the Knights may have missed."

"She's Lauren's granddaughter," Miri replied softly, "and Ginger's daughter. Are you surprised?"

"Not when you put it that way," Fred chuckled. "I'd be more surprised if she'd missed it."

The sound of the cello picked up again briefly, then Cin giggled.

"What is it?" Shinji asked nervously.

"I was just imagining you with long hair and shirtless," Cin said, still giggling. "But you don't look Finnish, so the image kind of broke."

"I don't look Finnish? Huh?" Shinji asked, confusion mingled with his nervousness.

"There's this band back home that's really, really popular," Cin said. "They're from Finland, and they're made up of three guys who play cello and one drummer, and they are so hot!"

"Three cello and a drum?" Shinji asked. "That sounds kind of odd."

"Here, let me play something by them for you," Cin said. "It's proof you can play almost anything on the cello, if you want to."

"If I want to," Shinji mused.

The sounds of Apocalyptica's version of "Enter Sandman" blasted from the apartment.

 

"So you've almost got everything packed up?" Fred asked the holographic image of Ginger.

"Almost," Ginger said. "Red herded the children over to play with Uncle Jim and Bindi, and Amelia lent us one of her loading drones, so we should be ready to take off in just a couple minutes."

"Sounds good," Fred said. "I hate to say it, but I'm kind of feeling sorry for the drunk. She's been in inpatient treatment for nearly a month now. For someone like her, that must be pure hell."

"Nearly a month," Ginger repeated, shaking her head. "You're right. That's not good for anyone. Does her therapist know I'm coming?"

"Dr. Mitsuishi is having some trouble dealing with me," Fred chuckled, "but I've told her you're coming. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what she's supposed to do with that."

"If she's dealing with you, I'm not surprised," Ginger laughed. "Did you get all feathery on her?"

"Kind of had to," Fred said. "She was convinced that the drunk had hallucinated that. As much as she disgusts me, I couldn't let her be subjected to treatment for something she's not suffering from."

"That's why we trust you," Ginger said. "Even with someone you despise, you won't violate your ethics."

A man with a shaggy mane of brilliant red hair joined Ginger in the image. He nuzzled her in greeting, then nodded at Fred.

"Everyone's over at Jim's," he said, "except Cinnamon. I couldn't find her. Her trail leads toward Fred's place."

"Cin!" Fred yelled. "Telephone!" He lowered his voice and said, "She's already been punished enough for stowing away in Manfred's Javelin compartment. By the time Miri landed, she was so grateful to be on solid ground, I don't think she'll stow away in anyone, ever again."

Cin came running into the room, saw the image, and slid to a stop, a look of mingled terror and guilt washing over her.

"Um, hi?" Cin squeaked, and waved her fingers at the image.

The man gave her a disappointed look, but remained silent. Ginger shook her head and sighed.

"Did you at least pack a bag when you stowed away," Ginger asked, "or do I need to bring some things for you?"

"Um, Uncle Fred and Aunt Miri took me shopping with Rei," Ginger said. "She needed the same things I did, so it was easy enough."

"You realize," the man said, "claws alone aren't going to help you there."

"What I really need is my violin," Cin said, then pulled a pistol the size of a Desert Eagle out of a hidden pocket in her shirt. "Daddy, you don't think I would have come here _naked_ , do you?"

"That's better," the man said. "All right, since you're already there, are you getting along with Rei and Shinji?"

"Uh-huh!" Cin said, bobbing her head. "Shinji's even better on the cello than I imagined, and Rei's really good with school in general, so she's been helping me not fall behind."

"I'll bring your violin," Ginger said. "Has the other one arrived yet?"

"Asuka?" Cin hissed. "No."

"That's not how you greet a patient, Cinnamon," Ginger said. "You want her to trust you, not be afraid of you."

"I … yes, Mom," Cin sighed. "Why do you always have to be right?"

"Years of experience," Ginger said. "Don't worry, when you have a daughter of your own, she'll ask you the same question."

Cin's face turned as red as her hair.

"I'd better go get her violin," Ginger said. "We'll be there soon."

"Thanks, Ginger, Red," Fred said. "Don't worry, Cin's actually been a big help since she got here. And contrary to what you might think from this phone call, she's been more mature than most people I know her age. I've really appreciated her, once she got over being airsick."

"I'm sure it was Manfred who was most concerned about her airsickness," Ginger teased, smiling at Cin, who protested, "Mom!" and blushed again.

Fred laughed and broke the connection. "No need to worry about them finding out now, eh?"

"Gee, thanks, Uncle Fred," Cin grumbled, but smiled as she did.

"Any time, Cin," Fred said, grinning. "Always glad to help."

 

"Pack your bags for three or four days," Ritsuko said, jolting Fred out of his shogi lesson.

"Three or four days? You're not sure exactly how long?" Fred asked.

"No," Ritsuko said. "We've been invited to send representatives to a conference presented by Japan Heavy Chemical Industries."

"Heavy Chemical?" Fred asked. "Interesting name. What do they do?"

"Military contracting," Ritsuko said. "Mostly chemical weapons. Not the nicest bunch of people."

"I'll say," Fred growled. "Chemical weapons are the weapons of homicidal maniacs and tyrants. But I repeat myself."

"The Commander wants us to keep our eyes open for anything that might be a problem," Ritsuko said.

"And not to sabotage their project?" Fred asked bluntly.

"Sabotage their project?" Ritsuko asked, taking a step back in surprise. "What?"

"I know they're building a mecha," Fred said, "and if they've invited us, they believe they're ready to unveil it. I also know that, in my source material, Gendo and Ritsuko sabotaged the mecha so that it appeared to be a threat to anyone on that side of Japan if its reactor melted down. So let's agree that there's not going to be any sabotage."

"You don't seriously – !" Ritsuko started, saw the look in Fred's eyes, and finished, "If you don't trust us, why are you working with us?"

"I thought I'd made that clear from the start," Fred said. "I'm here to prevent Third Impact. And to take care of the pilots. Of course, the one dovetails with the other, as I'm sure you've seen in your tests. Despite everything, Yui believes in Gendo. I've seen you, so I know you believe in what we're doing here. But do you believe it's necessary to do the unethical in order to achieve good?"

"Of course," Ritsuko said. "Sometimes you don't have any choice."

"That's where we're different," Fred said. "I don't accept that it's ever acceptable to do something unethical."

"But you blew up an entire planet!" Ritsuko protested. "You admitted it yourself!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Fred asked softly. "Don't you think I loath myself for having done that? Don't you think I spend every day trying to work out how I could have avoided it? If I hadn't still been acting as if I were as limited as a human, even though I already knew what I am, I could have saved them all. If I hadn't been so caught up in trying to not steal the show from Shepard, I could have just waved a wing and made the Reapers vanish in a puff of logic, and none of them would have died. I'm not going to screw up like that again. I'm not going to let my failures put more innocent people in their graves. I am never again going to be responsible for innocent people suffering."

"OK, OK, I get the picture," Ritsuko grumbled. "Look, I promise you, the Commander has not asked me to perform any type of sabotage. Does that help?"

"Yes," Fred said. "It will do. Tokyo-2, I take it?"

"Believe it or not," Ritsuko said, "they've set up the conference in a section of the Tokyo ruins that are still above water."

"Should be interesting, then," Fred mused. "All right, when are we leaving?"

"Eight a.m.," Ritsuko said. "We'll take one of the – as you call them – gunless ships."

"Why not take number 23?" Fred asked, with an innocent smile.

"Number 23, huh?" Ritsuko asked. "All right, we'll do that. What did you do to it?"

"Just cleaned up the weapon mounts," Fred said, "and put new equipment on them."

"And you want to take advantage of the ruins to get in some calibrations?" Ritsuko asked, then shook her head, smiling. "You are the most confusing man ever."

"Good," Fred said. "If I am, I must be doing my job."

 

The conference was typical for corporate junkets: cheap hotel rooms, bad food, and boring presentations, all leading up to the keynote. Fred would have already left to do some test runs over the ruins if not for the demo he was anticipating. Even the argument between Ritsuko and the stuffed shirt on the stage passed without arousing his interest.

_"Dad!"_ Edgar thought worriedly. _"Their robot is controlled by an AI! And he's about as mature as a four-year-old."_

Outside, the mecha suddenly clutched its head and let out a cry of terror. A moment later, every speaker in the place broadcast a terrified voice.

"Radiation! I'm surrounded by radiation! I'm gonna get sick! I'm gonna die! I gotta get away! I gotta get away!"

A moment later, the mecha suddenly sprouted a halo of rods, and it began running, while the voice on the speakers continued crying, "I gotta get away! The radiation's all around me!"

"Well, frak," Fred groaned. "We're going to need either Yui or Rei to stop him, and someone to talk him down. Poor thing's terrified. They must not have ever told him he's not human, so he's not as vulnerable to radiation."

"Him?" Ritsuko asked, giving Fred a sharp look. "You mean that mecha out there?"

"Yeah," Fred said. "It's controlled by an AI, and as you can tell from its voice, this particular AI is about as mature as a four year old boy. They probably programmed in a chart of radiation hazards, and neglected to tell him that the hazards don't apply to him, because he's not human."

"So we need to stop it," Ritsuko said, "without traumatizing it any more? Damn!"

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "We need to call NERV, right? Let's find somewhere private. Edgar can get you a secure line."

"I expected their robot to fail," Ritsuko complained as the duo slipped out of the convention hall, "but I didn't expect them to have been so stupid as to put an AI on a combat machine! That's just asking for trouble!"

"Yeah," Fred said. "Unless the AI is mature enough to understand humans, and the humans are willing to make it a member of the team, on equal footing, having an AI in the combat unit is always a recipe for disaster."

"Secure line established," Edgar said, once they were outside the convention hall. "I'm jamming the bugs in the area, too."

"Thank you, Edgar," Ritsuko said. "Maya?"

"I'm here," Maya's voice replied instantly.

"Load up Yui and Shinji and bring them to Tokyo," Ritsuko said. "Have Rei on standby, just in case anything crops up while Yui's here."

"Right away!" Maya replied. "Hyuga's certified on the heavy lifter, so he'll be flying."

"Which way is he running?" Ritsuko asked.

"He's headed for Atsugi," Edgar said. "At this rate, he'll get there in ten to fifteen minutes."

"Damn it!" Ritsuko cursed. "Maya, have Hyuga drop Yui in front of the mecha. She needs to keep it from getting to a populated area, while Fred tries to get it to stop running."

"Did you get that, Yui?" Maya asked.

"I understand," Yui said. "Shinji and I will launch as soon as Hyuga picks us up. I'm moving into position for loading now."

"We're all set on this end, then," Maya said. "And Ritsuko? Please, be careful."

"We'll be fine," Ritsuko said. "If nothing else, Fred can eat the reactor or something, right?"

"That may be what I have to do," Fred mused. "That would give that poor kid a chance at a fresh restart, without the radiation terrorizing him."

"Do whatever you have to," Ritsuko said. "We can't let that mecha into that city."

"I know," Fred said. He hit the crash bar on the nearest door. "You go deal with the moron in charge of this project, while I deal with that poor kid out there."

Once he was in the air, Fred flew toward the mecha, scanning for a frequency he could talk to it on without being blocked out by its panicked cries. Eventually, he found the emergency command frequency, which apparently had been designed for receiving only.

"Hey, kid," Fred said as he flew beside the mecha. "What's your name? You don't have to transmit it. I'm right here beside you, so you can just say it, OK?"

"They call me Jet Alone!" the mecha's loudspeaker boomed. "I'm gonna die! I'm surrounded by radiation! You gotta get away, mister, or you'll die, too!"

"I'm OK, kid," Fred said, "and so are you. You know, I knew a guy once named Jet. He was a nice guy. That was a long time ago, though. So, Jet, why are you scared?"

"There's radiation all around me!" the mecha cried. "I gotta get away or it'll kill me!"

"Yeah, that'd scare me, too," Fred agreed, "if I were in danger of radiation. I've got a secret, though, and it's one you have, too. You want to hear it, Jet?"

Yui landed, a couple hundred yards ahead of the mecha, and the lifter rose to a safe orbiting altitude.

"No! Get away! Get back! There's radiation!" the mecha cried out, waving its arms frantically at Yui.

"It's OK," Fred said, as he landed on the robot's head. "She has the same secret that you and I do, that makes us safe. You know what that secret is?"

"What?" the mecha cried. By now, it was blubbering with terror.

"None of us are human," Yui said, as she wrapped her arms around the mecha in a motherly embrace. "None of us are in danger from the radiation the way humans are."

The mecha struggled, then broke into tears and collapsed in Yui's embrace.

"I'm gonna die, we're all gonna die, I don't wanna die," the mecha sobbed.

"I'm going to open your backpack, Jet, OK?" Fred said gently. "I'm going to do something about the radiation, so you don't have to be afraid."

"You are?" the mecha asked, like a child that had just been promised ice cream.

"I am," Fred said. "Just let me open the hatch here, and I'll take care of it."

"Is this the hatch?" the mecha asked, and blew the hatch open.

"Yeah," Fred said, chuckling, as the hatch hit his Ravenfield and stopped, then fell to the ground. "I'm going in right now, Jet. It'll be OK."

Inside the compartment, Fred saw what looked like a standard commercial reactor's emergency control terminal. His hands transformed into cables, each one terminating in a connector that mated to one of the ports on the terminal, and he and Edgar began scanning the mecha's code.

"The radiation is going away," the mecha said, as its control rods began to sink into its reactor core. "I'm tired."

"It's OK, hon," Yui said gently, still cradling the mecha. "You can go to sleep. We'll watch over you."

Once the control rods were all fully inserted, Fred started the reactor's shut-down sequence. He remained connected to the terminal until the reactor was fully shut down and the only power in the mecha came from emergency batteries.

"We did it," Yui said softly when Fred floated out of the mecha's backpack.

"Not yet," Fred growled through gritted teeth. "Not until I find the idiot who thought that sending a four-year-old into combat was a good idea."

"Four-year-old?" Yui gasped, then let out a soft growl of her own.

"Yeah," Fred growled. "Jet may just be an AI, but they deliberately stopped his maturity at the four-year-old stage. It's no wonder he was terrified!"

"They're lucky I'm not small enough to get into their building," Yui growled, as her embrace tightened. "They're not getting him back."

"That's not all they're not getting back," Fred growled. "Thanks, Yui. I'll be back."

Fred lifted off and flew toward the JHCI building, clenching and unclenching his fists as he flew. When he landed, he stalked toward the man Ritsuko had been arguing with before the demonstration.

"Tokita Shiro?" Fred growled.

"Yes," his target said, giving Fred a worried look.

The response was barely out of Tokita's mouth when Fred's fist lifted him off the floor and sent him sprawling across the mecha's remote operations terminals.

"What kind of heartless, inhuman monster sends a _four-year-old_ into combat?" Fred yelled, the volume cranked up to rival a rock concert. "Did you even bother to tell that child that he's not human? Did you even bother to teach that child that he's not in danger from the things that endanger humans? Or did you just decide that four years old was a suitable age to ensure obedience without questioning? You are despicable! You make me ashamed to be human! That child out there has more humanity in his code than you do in your soul, you filth! I hope this fiasco ends up with you paying reparations into eternity, you sonofabitch! I'm taking that boy out of your custody and putting him in the care of someone who will treat him the way he deserves, and if I hear word of you trying to take him back, I'll hunt you down and make you wish we'd pointed him in your direction, instead of giving him the love and comfort you never gave him. _Do I make myself clear?_ " His final demand was shouted just inches from Tokita's face, with enough volume and palpable rage to make even a bureaucrat shrink in terror. Tokita squeaked, and the front of his pants darkened. "I said, _do I make myself clear?_ "

Tokita fainted. Ritsuko put a hand on Fred's shoulder and said gently, "I think you made yourself clear, to everyone who's still conscious. After today, I doubt anyone will trust him with anything more responsible than sweeping floors."

"Good," Fred growled. "We're taking Jet home. I know we're not set up for mecha, but I'm sure there's room in the geofront for him to play. Besides, you're not getting him away from Yui."

"How did they manage to program an AI without Mother's equations, though?" Ritsuko asked.

"His code's fairly well commented," Fred said, letting out a long, low hiss as he came down from his rage. "That's how I knew to look for Tokita. He was the one who specified that Jet's maturation should stop at the equivalent of a four-year-old."

"And he had the gall to throw accusations at _us?_ " Ritsuko hissed. "If he weren't already unconscious, I'd be tempted to kick him myself."

 

"With our record with children," Gendo said, "I'm having trouble believing you're trusting us with Jet Alone."

"I'm trusting Yui with him," Fred said. "She's pretty much adopted him already. Just look out by the lake."

"Yes," Gendo said. "They told me she didn't return to the cage. So she's finally decided she doesn't need us."

"No," Fred said. "That's not it at all. She's decided that Jet needs her more than she needs to spend her days watching soap operas and game shows while technicians fuss over her. She still needs you, it's just that she needs you to help her take care of Jet."

"The last four-year-old I tried to take care of …," Gendo started, then trailed off with a sigh. "I can't believe she trusts me, after the mess I made of Shinji."

"The mess you made because you were grieving for her," Fred said. "At least you had the sense to realize you weren't able to take care of him, and sent him to someone who could. Well, sort of. As messed up as he is, I'm kind of concerned about the quality of his sensei."

"What do you mean?" Gendo asked.

"Any normal kid would not be as convinced of his worthlessness as Shinji is," Fred said. "Sure, he'd be convinced his father didn't love him, although you've made a good start to getting over that, but he wouldn't come in believing that he's useless, worthless, incompetent, incapable, and unworthy of friendship, let alone love. Luckily, I have a bubasti working on him, and I'm pretty sure she'll be able to help him get over most of that, but I'm pretty sure that sensei you sent him to spent the last ten years telling him that you dumped him because he was everything I just listed. Did you know your son is a virtuoso? He plays cello like a master, yet he believes he's not very good, and only does it because his sensei told him he should."

"He plays cello?" Gendo asked, surprised. "No one ever told me that."

"Here," Edgar said. "I saved this when we listened to him practice."

The speakers throughout the command center began playing Bach. After the performance finished, there was silence from everyone for nearly half a minute.

"Commander?" Maya asked. "Who was that, and where can we get more? That was beautiful!"

"That …," Gendo started, his voice choked. He stopped, composed himself, then said, "That was my son."

"That was the Third Child?" came from someone in the command center.

"He's not just the Third Child," Gendo said. "He is Shinji Ikari. He is my son. And I am proud of him."

"He needs to hear you say that, you know," Fred said softly. "I think hearing that from you would do as much good for him as all the effort my bubasti friend is applying."

"Would he even believe it from me?" Gendo asked. "I haven't exactly given him much reason."

"You'll never know until you try," Fred said. "Give him reason to believe you. Maybe think about why Yui believes you, and think of how you can translate that to your son."

"She believes me because I've never held anything back from her," Gendo said. "I've always given her everything I have to give."

"There you go," Fred said. "I think Shinji would respond to that, too."

On the main screen, Yui and Jet were in the lake in front of the pyramid. Jet suddenly reached down and swept his hands through the water, spraying Yui with it. Yui laughed and returned the spray. Within moments, the two were splashing each other like they were playing in a pool, until Yui wrapped her arms around Jet, still laughing, and lifted him into the air.

"Mama Yui?" Jet asked, "Can I really stay here with you, for always?"

"For always, Jet," Yui said. "I will never let them take you away."

"She's one hell of a mother," Fred said, leaning on the railing and looking out at the screen. "I wish I'd had a mother like her." He let out a sigh. "Ah, well. We play the hand we're dealt, ne?"

"If we have the courage to play it," Gendo said. "Do you mind if I come by to see Shinji?"

"Mind?" Fred asked, giving Gendo an amused look. "I'd be delighted. Any idea when?"

"We're between crises right now," Gendo said, gesturing at the lack of papers on his desk. "This evening seems as good a time as any."

"Do you want me to tell him you're coming?" Fred asked.

"I'd rather it was a surprise," Gendo said. "I don't want him to work himself up into a state, anticipating what I might do or say."

"You're a wiser man than you know," Fred said, and nodded. "Do you like shark?"

"Yes, why?" Gendo asked.

"That's what I had planned to cook for dinner," Fred said. "I got a good deal on a dogfish this morning, and I'll be cutting off steaks for dinner." He chuckled. "Hell, there's probably 15 kilos of meat on it, so we'll be eating shark for a few weeks, unless I can give some of it away."

"I'm not going to ask where you got a dogfish on your salary," Gendo said, letting out a slight smile. "Should I assume seven, then?"

"Sounds like a good time to me," Fred said.

"There is something I had planned to ask," Gendo said. "Now seems as good a time as any. Our next unit is being shipped from Germany, along with its pilot. Both of them are, according to reports, somewhat unstable. I'd like you and your bubasti friend to meet them before they land."

"You realize Cin's not going to leave Shinji behind," Fred said. "She's very serious about helping him, and is likely to believe he'll take leaving him behind as sign of abandonment."

"Given what you've told me," Gendo said, "I'm not surprised. I think it might be good for Shinji to meet her before she lands, too. For both of them."

"He'll get advance warning of what she's like, and she'll meet her likely partner," Fred said. "I'm assuming that there will be Angels coming that one Eva can't manage alone, and whenever Shinji and Rei go out, one is backing up the other. That means Langley is most likely going to be the one he works with as a partner."

"Assuming you and your bubasti friend can stabilize her enough that she'll be capable," Gendo said. "I'll have YAGR-3B Number 23 waiting for you at 0800."

"They're that close?" Fred asked, surprised. "All right. We'll pack for a couple days, then."

"You should probably get out of here," Gendo said, "So you have time to get ready."

"Time?" Fred laughed. "That's one thing I don't have to worry about." He grinned, then called to Yui, "Yui? You and Jet doing OK?"

"We're doing just fine," Yui said. "Thank you. Is there any chance we can get him some toys his size?"

"I'll see what we can do," Gendo said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Do you have someone who's willing to come out and spend time in his control room?" Yui asked. "Jet's a good boy, he just needs human companionship."

"I'm sure we can find someone," Gendo said.

"Ask for volunteers," Yui said. "Don't order anyone. He'll be able to tell the difference."

"I see," Gendo said, waving Fred off. "I'll post a request for volunteers, then."

Fred nodded and left for the armory to get Unit 02's Ravenfield generator loaded on his assigned aircraft.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the UN Pacific fleet.
> 
> Fred loses his temper, and gains a minion.

"Try not to start a war with the admiral, Uncle Fred, please?" Cin pleaded as Number 23 prepared to land on the carrier's deck.

"Is Sensei really your uncle?" Aida asked, without once lowering his camera. "I'm so jealous!"

"Don't be," Cin said drily. "Part of being his niece means having to herd him back toward sanity when he gets too out there."

"That's an awful lot of ships out there, isn't it?" Toji asked.

Shinji shrugged. "Could be. I've never seen a naval formation before."

"Yeah," Fred said. "That's the UN's Pacific Fleet. I figured you guys had been staying out of trouble, so you deserved a field trip. And since the fleet was near Tokyo, I knew this would excite Aida-kun, at least."

"This is amazing, Sensei!" Aida gushed. "I see the _Over the Rainbow_ , and isn't that the _Cymbelline, Titus Andronic_ _u_ _s, and Othello_ down there?"

"Among others, yes," Fred said. He grinned at Cin. "Don't worry, Kitten. I know how to talk to officers."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Cin sighed.

"I'm sure it'll be OK," Shinji said, smiled at Cin, and gave her a one-armed embrace.

"Wow! Are those the _Illinois_ and _Kentucky_?" Aida gasped.

"That's what their numbers would indicate," Fred said. He paused, then shook his head. "Huh. The _Kuznetsov_. I guess that means the _Over the Rainbow_ is the only ship with heavy fighters, then. Not a problem, as long as no Angels attack."

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"You see the way the front of the flight deck curves upward?" Aida jumped in, explaining. "That's so they don't have to use catapults the way American carriers do. It also means they can only use light fighters, because heavier fighters can't get up enough speed to stay in the air without a catapult."

"They use catapults?" Shinji asked, surprised.

"Just like we do," Fred said. "Only difference is that their catapults release the aircraft at the end, so they get flung into the air, instead of stopping abruptly."

"That's got to be a lot easier on the pilots," Shinji mused.

"Yeah, but Evas aren't equipped with wings," Fred chuckled. "They'd just get in the way when you're between buildings anyway."

"Yeah, you're right," Shinji said. "So why are we out here, really?"

Fred gave Shinji a proud look, glanced at Toji and Aida, who were fixed on the fleet they were approaching, and gestured him closer.

"Remember how I mentioned we were going to be meeting Langley?" Fred asked softly. "This is it. She's here, with her Eva."

"Here?" Shinji squeaked. Cin took his hand and squeezed it gently, and he relaxed. "So, we're going to be riding back to port with her?"

"That's right," Fred said. "The idea is to meet her and get a feel for her personality before we have to rely on her to protect Tokyo 3. Cin will be able to get a good first impression of how much work she's going to need, so she can tell her mom."

"Yeah," Cin said, and sighed heavily. "I wish I didn't have to, but I'm going to have to pay some attention to her, Shinji."

"It's all right," Shinji said, looking into Cin's eyes and smiling. "I know how you feel about me, so I know that anything you have to do with her is just your job."

Cin made an inarticulate happy noise, then reached up and pulled Shinji down for a kiss. He froze for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss, while the couple turned black under the cover of a Ravenfield.

"Damn!" Toji declared. "My sister would get such a kick out of this!"

"Your sister?" Fred asked, surprised.

"Yeah!" Toji said, saw the look on Fred's face, and laughed. "Oh! I never told you, did I, Sensei? You were wrong! She woke up after a month in the hospital. She's said some really crazy stuff since then, but she's awake."

"What kind of crazy stuff?" Fred asked, worried.

"Oh, like how she was watching while you and I rescued her," Toji said, "and how you're not really a man, but a big black bird, and how the big black bird is going to help keep everyone safe, even if he has to trick them into being safe. Stuff like that."

"Oh!" Fred laughed. "OK, I was afraid you meant she'd been hurt enough she was talking crazy. So she's really OK, then?"

"Well, the hospital staff says they need to keep her because the head injury is bad enough she could have a," Toji paused and his eyes shifted, as he tried to remember something outside his normal vocabulary, "an ear-ism?"

"Aneurism?" Fred asked.

"That's it!" Toji said. "They're worried that if they let her out, she could die. Me and Dad and Grandpa think that it's best for them to keep her in the hospital until they're sure she's safe."

"I think you're right," Fred said. "It'd be awful for her to be healed up enough to go home, then have that happen to her. I'm glad she's OK. _Really_ glad."

"Yeah, and she told me I need to keep Kensuke out of trouble while we're out here," Toji said. "Funny thing, she knew we were coming out here before you asked if we wanted to come along."

"Yeah," Fred said, trying his best to sound casual. "That happens sometimes when someone gets hurt like she did. Sounds like she's OK, though, and that's good."

"Yeah!" Toji agreed, then returned to looking out the window as they landed on the _Over the Rainbow_.

"Oh yeah," Fred said. "Toji, stick your hat in your pocket before we leave the aircraft. The only head covering you wear on a carrier's flight deck is a helmet, or is held on by hearing protectors. Otherwise, the wind can rip it right off your head and you'll never see it again."

"Oh yeah!" Aida said. "Sensei's right. You won't want to lose your hat already, right?"

"Yeah," Toji said, and tucked his hat into a pocket. "The hat's brand new. I don't want to lose it."

"Aida-kun, try to restrain your excitement," Fred said as he reached for the door. "You know the proper protocol for visiting a ship, right?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Aida said, practically quivering with excitement as he restrained himself.

"All set," the pilot said, and Fred nodded to him.

"Thanks," Fred said, then slid open the door and stepped out onto the flight deck.

Cin helped Fred keep the others herded behind him, so when a lieutenant approached, they weren't scattered all over.

"Permission to come aboard?" Fred asked, snapping to attention.

"Granted," the lieutenant replied, giving Fred a surprised look. "You … are the contingent from NERV, right?"

"That's right," Fred said. "I have the power supply for the Eva, and am ready to install it whenever the Admiral is willing to allow it."

"Follow me, please," the lieutenant said. "Are you able to keep your … associates … in hand?"

"My assistants can manage that," Fred said, resting one hand on Shinji's shoulder, and the other on Cin's. "I trust these two implicitly."

"All right, then," the lieutenant said. "Follow me."

"Aida! Suzahara!" Fred barked out. "Stay with Shinji and Cinnamon! Remember, we're their guests, so act like you want them to invite you back!"

"Yes, Sensei!" Aida said, snapping to attention and throwing a sloppy salute at Fred.

Toji gave Fred a surprised look and opened his mouth to answer.

"I thought Misato was going to meet me!" Asuka complained.

The lieutenant cringed at the sound of her voice, and softly muttered, "Damn. I'd hoped we'd make it to the bridge before she showed up."

"Just a moment," Fred said softly, then turned toward Asuka. "I'm afraid Captain Katsuragi is currently unavailable, so I was sent instead. You are Langley, I take it?"

"That's right!" Asuka declared, looked Fred over, and posed in what looked to him like a bad parody of a teen magazine's idea of seductive. "Asuka Soryu Langley, the Second Child."

"Good," Fred said, his tone strictly professional. "I'm here to install Unit 02's power supply. You are here to learn how to work with me before we get to Tokyo 3. Let's try to make this as painless as possible, shall we?"

"What do you mean, I'm here to learn how to work with you?" Asuka demanded, her tone just short of a whine.

"Damit meine ich," Fred said, while giving her a cold smile, "kleines Mädchen, daß ich verantwortlich für Ihre Evangelion das Funktionieren durchhaltend, und ich Machtbefugnis haben vornehmen, auch wenn es bedeutet Ich muß die Führung von Ihnen übernehmen."

Asuka froze and glared at Fred, her face rapidly turning as red as her hair. Fred turned to the lieutenant and nodded.

"Shall we go?" Fred asked pleasantly. "I'm sure the Admiral doesn't want to be kept waiting."

The lieutenant nodded and gestured toward a hatch. "This way, please."

By the time Asuka had opened her mouth to shriek at Fred, Cin was closing the hatch behind them, leaving Asuka on the flight deck.

_"That was harsh, Uncle Fred,"_ Cin thought, as the group followed the lieutenant up toward the bridge.

_"Very,"_ Fred agreed. _"But she whined."_

_"I know, I know,"_ Cin sighed. _"And at least you don't have to worry about her trying to seduce you, I hope."_

_"Assuming she doesn't take my 'little girl' as a challenge,"_ Fred groaned. _"Gods, I hope she doesn't."_

Fred snapped to attention in front of the Admiral's station and offered his ID and orders. The admiral took them and studied them for a few moments, then looked at Fred.

"Well, well," the admiral said drily. "I thought you were the leader of this gang of Boy Scouts. It seems I was wrong."

"Sorry, Admiral. I'm just the guy responsible for making sure they work," Fred said. "That's why they sent me out here. Thank you for your help."

"No, no, thank you for giving me the chance to babysit a bunch of children," the admiral said, then groaned. "They warned me when I got my star that I'd end up doing something like this sooner or later."

"Hey, at least it's not Senators' wives and kids, right?" Fred said, giving the admiral a smile of commiseration. "These kids already know what's expected of them." He paused, then added in English, "Even the geek with the camera."

"He's the one I'm worried most about," the admiral said, also in English. "I'm pretty sure I can dig up a leash to put him on."

"I'm pretty sure I'd take you up on that offer if you had one," Fred said. He and the admiral smiled in agreement at each other. Fred continued in Japanese. "In any case, regardless of what my bosses would want me to say, I really appreciate your help getting that enormous doll across the ocean. Unfortunately, its use as a weapon means that it's nothing but an enormous target until its activated."

"Which explains why the UN diverted this entire fleet to the job?" the admiral asked, then shook his head. "Politicians. For the money they're spending on this job, we could be patrolling like we're supposed to, for the next year."

"You'll get no argument from me, sir," Fred said. "I just turn wrenches. Speaking of which …," he took a folder from his lab coat pocket, opened it, and pulled out a few sheets of paper. "… I'll be installing this while we're here, so that the damned thing can walk off under its own power when you get to port. Less chance of something being damaged by a cable snapping or the equivalent while it's being offloaded."

"That's the first good news I've heard this entire trip," the admiral said. "How soon can you get that installed?"

"Give me some engineers and I can have it in place in a half hour," Fred said. "If you have someone from Public Affairs who can distract the kids while I'm doing that, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Make it so, Captain," the admiral said, turning to the man who was standing behind him.

"Aye, aye, sir," the captain said. He turned to his yeoman, who was already writing instructions, when Asuka blasted through the entrance to the bridge, her voice in full cry.

"Little girl?" Asuka demanded, at the top of her lungs. "Little girl? I am the pilot of Evangelion Unit 02, the best pilot in the Evangelion program, and you have the gall to call me a little girl?"

"Yes," Fred said, in a casual tone, when she paused to take a breath. "If you behave as a child, you will be treated as a child. I don't have time for children. If you want me to take you seriously, you'll stop acting like a child."

"Acting like a child?" Asuka demanded. She glared at Fred, then shrieked, "I am not acting like a child! I am the pilot of Evangelion Unit 02! You will respect me! I deserve special treatment!"

"Why?" Shinji asked. "I don't get treated any different than anyone else. I wouldn't want to be treated any different."

"Why should you be?" Asuka demanded. "You're not anybody."

"He's just the best pilot in the Evangelion program," Fred said. "Better than you, at least."

"I, uh," Shinji started, then froze as Asuka stomped over to him and glared into his eyes.

"Him?" Asuka demanded. "That spineless wimp? That's the Third Child? Ha!"

"Spineless?" Shinji asked, then broke into laughter. He wrapped his arms around Cin and leaned on her, still laughing. "She called me spineless. She doesn't even know me yet, and she called me spineless."

Fred grinned and gave Cin and Shinji two thumbs up, while Asuka continued raging.

_"I don't know what you did, but that was priceless,"_ Fred thought. _"You are so good for him, it's amazing."_

_"He's even better as a real person than he was on TV,"_ Cin thought, blushing.

The yeoman quietly offered Fred, Toji, and Aida earplugs, as Asuka's raging continued. Fred gestured, and the yeoman offered him his clipboard. Fred scribbled a note on what looked like a sheet of paper designed for that, and the yeoman pointed toward a chair that wasn't in use.

Fred nodded, grabbed Asuka's upper arm, and dragged her toward the chair. Her initial response was stunned silence, then she began shrieking again, this time focusing her ire on Fred.

"Get your hands off me!" Asuka shrieked, her anger so overwhelming that she lost her Japanese and was screaming at him in German. "When Kaji finds out he'll kill you! I'll kill you! Let go of me, you pervert!"

Fred sat on the indicated chair, wrestled Asuka down across his lap, and flipped her skirt up, exposing her panties. She gasped when she felt the air across her thighs, then began struggling and screaming again. Fred's arm pressed down across her back and merged with his thigh, forming an inescapable pillory. Once she was locked into place, Fred's other hand began descending on her bottom, the force calibrated precisely so each individual strike did not quite leave a welt, but the accumulation of impacts soon left criss-crossing stripes and hand-prints in her skin.

When her threats and cries had been completely submerged under tears, and she was no longer able to speak, even to beg him to stop, the spanking stopped. Fred scanned her to ensure she wasn't suffering from any arrhythmias, subluxations, or injuries to her thighs or rear, ignored the fact that her panties and inner thighs were soaked, and released her.

"You may go now," Fred said firmly, once she was free. "I will expect you at dinner, where I will expect you to behave like a proper lady, not a spoiled child."

"I hate you!" Asuka wailed, and fled the bridge..

"You can not imagine how much I've wanted to do that," the admiral said, as he pressed a glass of rum into Fred's hands. "That child has been insufferable from the very first day."

"I just hope it doesn't backfire," Fred sighed, then took a sip of the rum. His eyes raised in surprise, and he took another sip. "Damn! This isn't Pusser's. You have your own supply?"

"This _is_ the largest carrier in the fleet," the admiral said, proudly. "We have a few engineering mates on board who could teach most distilleries how to brew rum."

"If they turn out product like this, I'd do just about anything to keep them," Fred said, as he took another sip. "I've never had rum that was good enough to drink straight before."

"Is it safe, Sensei?" Toji asked. "I hope I never hear anyone yell at me like that."

"It's as safe as it's going to be, Suzahara," Fred said. "There'll be someone from Public Affairs here to escort you all shortly. I need to go take care of fixing up her Eva."

"She's a pilot?" Toji gasped, the look of surprise almost comical. "Really? It wasn't bullshit? Damn! NERV must be desperate if they're giving her an Eva!"

"Imagine how the admiral and all his men must feel," Fred said. "They've had to put up with her, all the way across the ocean."

Toji and Aida both stood up straight and bowed deeply to the admiral.

"We're very sorry, sir!" Toji said. "We will do everything in our power to not make your journey any more arduous than it already has been."

"You've been working on these kids for a while, I take it?" the admiral asked in English.

"Just treating them like you would adults," Fred answered, also in English. "I've found that treating them like children only encourages childish behavior."

"Whoever their future commander is will most likely thank you for that," the admiral said. He switched back to Japanese. "Thank you, young man. I'll expect all of you at my table at 1900."

"Yes, sir!" Aida said, stars in his eyes.

"The _Bob Hope_ is standing by," the yeoman said. "Will you need transport?"

"I'll be fine," Fred said. "Everything I need is still stowed in Number 23."

"In that case," the admiral said, "I'll expect you at 1900, as well."

"Aye, aye, sir," Fred said with a grin, as a lieutenant showed up to take care of Shinji and the others.

 

Fred winced as Number 23 landed on the _Bob Hope's_ helipad. The waves of insanity rolling off the covered mass aft of the ship's rear crane were intense enough to give him a headache, even with Edgar's filtering.

_"Damn, Cin,"_ Fred hissed. _"There's no way in hell you're going to be able to handle Unit 02. She's so crazy that being in her entry plug may be contributing to Asuka's behavior."_

_"More than being indulged as a spoiled brat does?_ " Cin asked. _"That's a problem. So I'm going to have to leave Unit 02 to Mom?"_

_"Definitely,"_ Fred said. _"I hope that she'll be in better shape after Faern'ya's done with her, but at the moment, I'm not sure."_

Several technicians met Fred as he stepped out of the aircraft, and they moved the Ravenfield generator as a group.

"All right," Fred said as they set the generator down, "how many of you work for NERV?"

Three of the techs raised their hands. One of them spoke up. "We're being transferred to headquarters along with Unit 02."

"Good," Fred said. "I'll want you three inside with me, since you'll have to know the details of how to maintain the connections." He smiled apologetically at the others. "Sorry, guys, but since you're never going to have to deal with this again, I'm not going to subject you to crawling around under the armor, where we have to make the connections."

"That's just fine!" the oldest non-NERV technician said. "We don't like being near that thing, let alone want to work on it."

"Yeah," Fred said. "Getting anywhere near it kind of sucks, doesn't it? Don't worry. None of you will have to deal with it ever again, once it's off your ship."

"And you can't imagine how happy that makes us!" the older tech said.

"You guys have your tools with you?" Fred asked the NERV techs.

"Always," one of the techs said.

"Good," Fred said. "Let's get to work, then."

Two of the techs grabbed the tarp that was covering Unit 02 and pulled it back, revealing the Eva's form, laying face-down on the deck, the armor over its entry plug locked into position.

"Did someone insert the entry plug?" Fred asked, as he climbed up the Eva to hit the release control. As soon as he touched it, he let out a groan. "Frak. Asuka's inside."

"She does that whenever she's upset," one of the techs said. "We usually just let her be. She'll come out when her life support runs out."

"Rules change," Fred said. He plugged a finger into the ground-control headset port, made sure the circuit was live, then said, firmly but without any audible anger, "Asuka. I am here to attach the new power supply to your Eva. You do not want to be inside when I do that. Come out and get yourself cleaned up. The admiral is expecting us at 1900."

"No," Asuka whimpered.

"Asuka," Fred said, still keeping his tone firm but free of anger. "You do not want to make me repeat myself. There will be consequences if you do. Come out of your entry plug now. I am certain you do not want me to force you out."

"You wouldn't," Asuka protested weakly, uncertainty clear enough to cause her voice to quaver.

"You already know better," Fred said. "Come here."

Asuka let out a strangled sob, and the armor opened over her entry plug. Once it had swung out of the way, the entry plug slid out, exposing the hatch. The hatch opened, and Asuka scrambled out, gave Fred a wounded look, and started to run for the superstructure.

"Asuka!" Fred barked. She stopped and froze, then slowly turned to look at him. "Like a lady, Asuka. Walk like a lady. I will pick you up at 1830, and you will be dressed like a lady for dining with the admiral."

Asuka nodded, then stood, wringing her hands.

"Go ahead," Fred said. Asuka started to bolt for the hatch, then let out a whimper and walked, swinging her hips as if she were on four-inch heels. "Ich habe gesagt, auf eine Dame, nicht eine Prostituierte."

Asuka froze, then let out a sob and ran for the hatch.

_"Cin?"_ Fred called, with a heavy sigh. _"Asuka's going to need your help. She's been using_ _Unit 02's entry plug as her safe place."_

_"Shit,"_ Cin hissed. _"Anything else I should know?"_

_"I'd warn Shinji that he should not tell her about Yui,"_ Fred said. _"At least not until Faern'ya and your mom have had time to work on Unit 02."_

_"Already taken care of,"_ Cin said. _"I figured that out as soon as you warned me how crazy she is. Uncle Fred, do you realize how deep you're in it now?"_

_"With Asuka?"_ Fred sighed. _"Yeah. We need to find someone for her to switch her focus to. At least, until we can figure out whether she's a natural, or it's just a symptom of her instability."_

_"We might not be able to, you realize,"_ Cin said.

_"Frak,"_ Fred groaned.

_"This is why you should never go anywhere without Aunt Miri,"_ Cin giggled. _"She would have stepped on your foot or something before you spanked Asuka."_

_"How was I supposed to know that punishing her would flip her switch?"_ Fred groaned.

_"With all the women in your life,"_ Cin laughed, _"and you're still so amazingly innocent. How do you manage?"_

_"Mostly, by staying out of the way and trusting them to know what they want,"_ Fred said.

_"I'd say Asuka knows what she wants,"_ Cin giggled. _"She's just too afraid to take it."_

_"That's not reassuring, Cin,_ " Fred groaned.

_"You_ did _put a healthy dose of fear into her,"_ Cin said. _"And when you spanked her, she got_ very _turned on. I don't know if she's naturally wired that way, or it's a result of all the contact with her mother, but right now, you have to deal with a girl who's probably_ _as fixated on you as Hokuto, but who_ _is in desperate need of a therapist, not a Master."_

_"I know,"_ Fred groaned. _"And I've already informed her I'll be back on this ship at 1830 to collect her for dinner. Any chance you can help her preserve what little is left of her pride?"_

_"Consider it done,"_ Cin said. _"She'll be ready for you by 1830."_

_"Thank you,"_ Fred thought, with a relieved sigh. _"At least_ that _won't be screwed up because I lost my temper."_

Since the techs had not noticed any time passing during Fred's conversation, they moved in and began working on the Ravenfield generator. It was installed and ready for operation in the promised half hour. Shortly after the generator was installed, one of the _Over the Rainbow's_ helicopters landed and disgorged Cin and the others. When the Public Affairs officer opened the hatch that led into the _Bob Hope's_ superstructure, Fred saw a glimpse of red hair vanishing into the shadows, just before Cin and the others entered.

 

_"Are you feeling what I'm feeling?"_ Edgar asked, as Fred walked down the passage to Asuka's cabin.

_"The feeling like we're back in Terminal Dogma?"_ Fred replied. _"Absolutely."_

_"_ _So that confirms it,"_ Edgar said. _"Kaji is smuggling Adam on this trip. We're going to have to have a word with Gendo about the foolishness of assuming an Eva's presence would mask Adam's."_

_"As long as the Angel holds off a bit, the kids can at least have a decent dinner,"_ Fred though. _"But at least Shinji won't have packed his plug suit for nothing."_

_"Yeah,"_ Edgar chuckled. _"I'm pretty sure he thought you were nuts, but he trusts you. Time to suit up. Forbes, or Park Avenue?"_

_"Forbes,"_ Fred replied. _"Park Avenue might be overdoing it a bit."_

_"So semi-formal, then,"_ Edgar concluded. _"Right."_

Fred's surface flowed and reconfigured, and when it settled, he appeared to be wearing a kilt, in Forbes plaid, with the appropriate jacket, tie, and accessories for attending an afternoon wedding. His sporran was ermine, with silver fittings, his garters had dirks tucked into them, his shoes were polished until they could be used as black mirrors, and his cuffs had silver cuff links, in the shape of thistle flowers. He waited until precisely 1830, then knocked on Asuka's hatch.

Cin opened the hatch and stepped back. Asuka was wearing her usual sun dress, but Cin had somehow managed to put it together with just the right amount of makeup to not only cover the puffy, red eyes left from the afternoon, but to also give her the illusion of being several years older than she actually was. Fred silently hoped she wouldn't open her mouth and dispel the illusion.

"H-hello?" Asuka said nervously. She started to bite her lip, then glanced at Cin and stopped. When Cin nodded, she turned back to Fred and smiled nervously at him.

"Good evening, ladies," Fred said, while smiling warmly at both. "I came to escort Miss Langley to the admiral's table for dinner, but it seems I've missed her." He turned to address Asuka directly. "Since she's not available, would you be so kind as to join me in her place?"

Asuka opened her mouth, as if to protest, then let out a faint whimper and closed it again. When Fred offered his left elbow, Asuka looked at it with a confused expression. Seeing the confusion, Fred felt a bit of sadness rising, and some sympathy for the poor girl. He reached out with his right hand, took Asuka's right hand, and guided it through the crook of his elbow. Once it was in place, Asuka clung to him as if she were afraid of falling, or being torn away.

"So, my lady," Fred said cheerfully, while patting Asuka's hand gently, "by what name should I know you?"

"Is that supposed to be – " Asuka started, a healthy load of anger carried in her tone. She froze when Fred looked down at her, swallowed, and said, weakly, "A – Asuka Soryu Langley, Sir."

"Really?" Fred asked, feigning surprise. "I would not have guessed. You give every appearance of being a lady, even if no one has ever taught you how to be one. That's quite all right, though. Behaving as a proper lady is something you can learn, and I'm told that Asuka Soryu Langley is capable of learning almost anything. Is that true?"

"Y – yes, Sir," Asuka squeaked, looking up at Fred like a deer in headlights.

"Excellent!" Fred said, giving her a warm smile. "We should catch our flight, then. It would be rude to keep the admiral waiting, and a lady is never _unintentionally_ rude."

Behind Asuka, Fred could see that Cin was turning interesting colors as she restrained herself from laughing at the scene. He could hardly blame her, since he would have never picked himself as a suitable teacher of proper behavior.

While escorting Asuka down the passage, Fred chatted at her, imparting advice that he hoped she was in a frame of mind to hear.

"One of the most important things to know, for any proper civilized person, whether lady or gentleman," Fred said, "is that opinions should only be given upon request, and never at a volume above that of the current conversation. Even if you witness someone making a statement that you know is abysmally stupid, it is rude and unladylike to interrupt in order to point out that stupidity in public, at any volume, let alone one that causes discomfort to all within hearing range." He gave her a wink and added, as if imparting a great secret, "Besides, unless the stupid one is threatening injury to others with his stupidity, a lady can gain much greater satisfaction from allowing him to make a fool of himself, than from being thought boorish by those around her."

Luckily, Cin had taken Asuka's nerve clips from her hair, and done her hair in a style that would not be harmed by exposure to wind or helmet, so when they climbed aboard the helicopter for the trip to the admiral's carrier, there was no harm done to her style. Fred had been forced to gently pry Asuka's fingers from his elbow, while softly telling her that he would not push her away, as long as she behaved herself, before he could help her don her headset for the ride. Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke all stared at Asuka as if they couldn't believe she was the same person they'd seen that afternoon, while Cin smiled secretively and leaned against Shinji.

Once they were aboard the _Over the Rainbow_ , Cin herded the boys into place behind Fred and Asuka, and the entire party followed the ensign who had been sent to guide them to the officer's wardroom. Even the ensign had stared at Asuka as if she were a stranger, before surrendering to the inevitable and escorting them all.

"Oh yes," Fred said softly as they walked through the passages, "food comes under the heading of opinions. It is especially important to not be directly insulting regarding food, but when asked, it is possible to express your disappointment in a dish or a meal without being insulting or rude, even if it does have the taste and texture of British cooking."

Asuka giggled, then squeaked and looked up at Fred fearfully. He smiled and patted her hand, nodding. She sighed and moved closer to him.

The seamen assigned to the officer's wardroom stared at Asuka as Fred guided her into her designated seat. She looked up at him, a surprised expression on her face. Cin sat on Fred's other side, with Shinji beside her, and Toji and Kensuke beyond him, Kensuke barely containing his excitement as he sat.

"You had a chat with them?" Fred asked Cin quietly. "I didn't expect Aida to be so restrained."

"Your advice earlier seems to have taken," Cin said. "I think Kensuke is hoping he _will_ be invited to come back."

"Why – why did you help me sit, Sir?" Asuka asked quietly, once Fred turned his attention from Cin to her.

"It's what a gentleman does when escorting a lady," Fred said. He gave her a gentle smile, then asked, "Did anyone ever teach you how to deal with a formal dinner?"

"No, Sir," Asuka said softly, looking down and twisting her fingers together in her lap.

"Well, then," Fred said, while covering her hands with his own and gently squeezing them, "just follow my lead. I've been to more formal dinners than I care to count, so I've kind of had to learn how to behave as a guest at one."

"I can't believe the admiral is letting me sit with you," Asuka said softly. "He had me join him on our first night at sea, but I've been eating in the mess since then, except when I eat with Kaji."

"It's all a question of etiquette," Fred said, gently squeezing Asuka's hand. "When you behave as a proper lady, you are welcome everywhere."

"Etiquette?" Asuka asked, giving Fred a look of disbelief. "But that's so artificial and hypocritical and full of contradictory and useless rules!"

_"She had the same reaction when I tried to explain it to her,"_ Cin thought. _"I ended up having to explain it as being like lubrication for social occasions."_

_"_ _Damn._ _That's what I'd planned on using, too,"_ Fred thought, with a sigh. _"Looks like I'll have to try another angle."_

"There's only one rule you have to worry about tonight, then," Fred said softly. "Don't do or say anything that would reflect badly on me. I would be … disappointed in you … if you did."

Asuka blushed, the blush spreading as far as her sundress, then looked down at her plate, swallowed hard, and whispered, "Yes, Sir."

"Haben Sie keine Angst," Fred said softly. "Selbst wenn ich enttäuscht bin, werde ich nicht im Stich lassen."

The ship rang briefly, as if it had been struck at its resonant frequency. Asuka looked up at Fred, her eyes shining with adoration. Cin groaned and rubbed her temples.

_"Master?"_ Rei thought. _"Did you just make a promise? Miri and I both just felt the power."_

_"Did I just – ,"_ Fred started, then sighed softly. _"I suppose I did. Rei, how well do you know the people in Tokyo 3?"_

_"Not as well as the Commander or Dr. Akagi,"_ Rei answered. _"What kind of promise did you make, Master, and what help do you need from me?"_

_"I promised Asuka that I would not abandon her,"_ Fred thought, _"which means that I have to find someone who will treat her right. And I have to find that someone before we've finished with the Angels."_

_"Not necessarily, Master,"_ Rei thought.

_"What do you mean?"_ Fred asked, curious, while trying to avoid being drawn in by the adoring look in Asuka's eyes.

_"Asuka is German,"_ Rei thought. _"Germans are noted for being extremely focused on the mystical. It is possible that a god she can pray to will serve as well as a Master she can serve bodily."_

_"Oh, no,"_ Fred groaned silently. _"This isn't even my world. You, I can take home, where you'll be free of all this mess. Asuka …."_

_"… belongs here, yes,"_ Rei agreed. _"But you would not have felt the need to make a promise to her unless you already had some connection."_

_"If I hadn't lost my temper and spanked her ...,"_ Fred sighed.

_"… she would not have responded by submitting herself to you,"_ Rei thought. _"Since she could not dominate you, her only other alternative was to submit to you. I see. Is she naturally this way, or is it due to her instability?"_

_"That's the same question Cin and I have been working on all afternoon,"_ Fred thought. _"If it's due to her instability, then everything will clear up as soon as she is healed."_

_"On the other hand, if it is her nature,"_ Rei thought, _"we will have to find some way to care for her, since she has chosen you to submit to. I will discuss the problem with Miri, and attempt to find a solution with her help."_

_"Thank you, Rei,"_ Fred thought. _"And thank you for listening, Miri. I know, I shouldn't have lost my temper, but she whined at me, and then raged at Shinji, just like Deb used to do to me."_

_"Are you all right, love?"_ Miri asked, worried.

_"I will be,"_ Fred said. _"I'm more worried about her. It was all right when I could put a wall of contempt between me and her, but … damn it, I can't be contemptuous of someone in this much pain."_

_"Do you want us to come out there?"_ Miri asked.

_"Do you think you could tolerate it?"_ Fred asked. _"I know we'll be in_ _sometime tomorrow, but maybe if you see her tonight, you'll think of something I'm blind to."_

_"That leaves so many options, Master,"_ Rei thought, leaving both her and Miri giggling with amusement.

_"We'll be there soon, love,"_ Miri thought. _"Just try to retain your sanity until then."_

_"What little of it is left,"_ Fred thought, to the accompaniment of both women's laughter.

"Are you all right, Sir?" Asuka asked softly, while her gaze remained fixed on Fred's face.

"It's all right," Fred said gently. "We can talk – here comes the admiral."

As the admiral walked in, Fred rose to his feet, drawing Asuka with him. Cin and the others rose, Shinji and Toji bowed, and Kensuke attempted one of his untrained salutes. The admiral paused briefly when he saw Asuka, then continued to his seat.

"Miss Langley," the admiral said, "you do recall my instructions after your last visit to this wardroom, yes?"

"Yes, sir, I do," Asuka said softly. She looked up at Fred and continued, in a voice that remained soft, but had a core of determination, "Wherever he goes, I will follow. I will do whatever he asks."

"I see," the admiral said, then looked at Fred. "I do not envy you your task, young man, even if I admire your capability."

"A gentleman does what he must," Fred said. He looked down at Asuka and added gently, "Especially when a lady is in distress. I must apologize, though. Miss Langley is here because I ordered her presence. She tried to warn me that she was unwelcome, but I believed she would be welcome as long as she behaves as a lady."

"I see," the admiral said. "I appreciate your honesty, and rather admire your attitude. If more people had that attitude, the world would be a much better place."

The admiral nodded to the wardroom crew, and the meal service began.

 

When the meal was over, and the guests departing, the admiral stopped Fred and Asuka.

"Miss Langley, would you wait in the wardroom for a moment please?" the admiral asked. Asuka looked to Fred, who nodded and gestured toward an empty chair. Once Asuka had taken her seat, the admiral steered Fred into the passage. "You have your hands full, you realize. I'm impressed by what you've done in just one afternoon, while doing the work you did on that overgrown doll of hers, but I've seen her in action. She will attempt to test you, constantly. Dealing with her has been like dealing with an enemy fleet – one that I can't simply bomb into surrender."

"I understand," Fred said, "and thank you for your concern. I'm hoping that enough training and guidance will cure her of that, but regardless, I've already learned that she responds well to the right kind of reinforcement."

"Good luck," the admiral said. "I'm sure you'll need it."

"Thank you," Fred said. "We'll be available in case you need anything before we make port, and my wife will be arriving shortly with another pilot, just in case. I know it's not anything you can pick up on sonar or radar, but I have a bad feeling about the next few hours."

"A good commander learns to work with his bad feelings," the admiral said. "Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure my people know. How will your wife and the third pilot be arriving?"

"She flies a VF1-S," Fred said. "All she needs is enough space to put down."

"A VF1-S?" the admiral asked. "That's a designation I'm not familiar with."

"A variable fighter, of my own design," Fred said. "You'll recognize him instantly. He rather prefers a crimson paint job."

"I see," the admiral said. "This should be interesting. I'll leave you to deal with Miss Langley, then."

"Thank you, Admiral," Fred said, opened the wardroom hatch, and found Asuka sitting in the chair he had indicated, as if afraid she would be caught if she left it.

"Let's go, Asuka," Fred said, offering her his elbow. She darted across the room and clutched it, then looked up at him as he led her back to the helicopter.

 

"Sorry to rush you all," the helicopter's pilot said when they touched down on the _Bob Hope_ , "but I'm being told someone else is waiting in line, so I need to get back to the _Over the Rainbow_ as soon as you're all on the ship."

"Understood," Fred said. "We'll get out of your hair ASAP."

The helicopter's door opened and Fred and Cin herded the others off the helicopter. Asuka waited just outside, and clutched Fred's arm as soon as he was clear. The deck crew waved off the helicopter, while Cin and Fred made sure the boys were outside the danger zone, and it took off to return to the carrier.

The helicopter was just shrinking into the distance when a familiar crimson fighter folded into gerwalk mode and dropped down to land on the helipad. Fred and Cin smiled as the canopy rose and revealed Miri and Rei. The deck crew rolled a scissors lift into place, so the two could step out and be lowered to the deck. Once they were on deck, Miri opened Manfred's storage compartment and took out a pair of overnight bags.

Fred stepped forward, smiling happily, and extended his free hand to Miri. "You made it! Miri, this is Asuka. Asuka, this is my first wife, Miriam Groenschild MacManus."

"Your … first wife, Sir?" Asuka asked, looking up at Fred with open confusion.

"Yes," Fred said. "Miri is the one who was brave enough, and strong enough, to choose me when I was in too much pain to want to be chosen. She healed me, when no one else was able to."

"But why do you call her your _first_ wife?" Asuka asked.

"Oh!" Fred said, then shrugged. "That's because I have seven wives, two pets, one Chosen," he paused, turned to look Asuka in the eyes, and added, "and one servant."

Asuka gave him a rebellious look for just a moment, but when his gaze did not waver, her rebellion changed to a joyful smile, and she asked, "You … you … I mean," she swallowed. "Really?"

"Really," Fred said. "After all, a priestess is, by definition, a servant, right? And what better way for you to serve me, than as my priestess?"

Miri rolled her eyes, moved in to take Asuka in her arms, and gave Fred a look that was somewhat similar to amusement.

"Have you gotten around to telling her what you are, love?" Miri asked. "Or have you been too busy for little details like that?" She shook her head and gave Asuka a tired smile. "He really does tend to get too distracted for the little details that the rest of us consider important. Don't worry, hon. I'll be able to take care of that."

Asuka stiffened at Miri's touch, and snapped, "Who do you think you are? My mother? My mother is dead! I don't need a mother! You – "

"Asuka!" Fred barked.

Asuka squeaked and went silent.

"We know your mother is dead," Fred said gently. "Miri is not trying to take her place. She's merely trying to be someone you can lean on and rely on. I know from experience that you can rely on her as much as you rely on me. You can trust her as I do. You can rely on her without any need to hold back. Anything."

"Yes, Sir," Asuka said softly, looking down at the deck. "I'm sorry, Sir. I won't do that again, Sir."

"Asuka," Fred said, "I know you're going to need someone to rely on when you can't come to me for whatever reason, whether it's because you're afraid or you don't think it's important enough to bother me with or whatever. Miri is someone I trust absolutely, and I know she can take care of all of those things you are afraid to tell me, or think aren't important enough to tell me. Do you understand?"

Asuka looked at Miri for several seconds, before asking uncertainly, "Sir trusts you absolutely?"

"He doesn't say it often," Miri said as she nodded in reply, "but he does. He relies on me for many things."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Asuka said softly. "If Sir trusts you, then it was wrong for me to treat you that way."

"It will be all right," Miri said, rested her hands on Asuka's shoulders, and looked her over from an arm's distance. "It looks as if you've had a hard day. Why don't we go inside and you can tell me about it?"

"You, you really don't mind?" Asuka asked, giving Miri a confused and surprised look. When Miri nodded, she glanced back at Fred, who smiled and nodded back at her. She lowered her voice and said, softly, "I'm so confused. Everything has been so strange since Sir arrived."

"It usually is, hon," Miri said gently. She took Asuka's hand and led her toward the hatch, while quietly talking to her in a way that soon had Asuka smiling and responding in kind.

"Miri truly is a miracle worker," Rei commented. "She is able to make even people as different as Asuka and myself feel as if we are the most important person to her at the time she is with us."

"She managed to get through to me," Fred said, "even when I was convinced that any good woman saw me only as an honorary big brother, and any woman who acted as if she was attracted to me was like my widow."

Rei gazed into the distance for a moment, then looked up at Fred intently, then wrapped her arms around him, squeezed him tightly, and whispered, "Never again. I will be taking over for Miri once we are below deck, and she will be coming to you."

"It's all right," Fred said, with a sad smile. "I'm not having those kinds of memories right now. I was just trying to express how amazing Miri is."

"That may be," Rei said, "but you are still our man, and we are going to care for you. Miri is the one best suited to that, so she will be coming to you as soon as I have gone to help Asuka."

"Thank you," Fred said, then sighed heavily. "I really shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I just … saw the way she was treating Shinji, and it was like I was seeing and hearing my widow in her place. Thank goodness for Cinnamon. I'd hate to think of what would have happened to Shinji if she weren't there."

"You saw your widow?" Rei asked, looking up at Fred. When he nodded, she let out a soft sigh of her own and hugged him tightly. "Now I understand why you responded to Asuka the way you did."

"Everyone keeps telling me it will get better," Fred said. "I'm trying to believe them."

"Trying to," Rei repeated.

"Trying to," Fred said. "Asuka is the first person like her that I've had to deal with on such an intimate basis since I died. I … didn't dare deal with her the way I dealt with Asuka. I'm kind of scared. Asuka switched so completely, I'm hoping that it's due to her mental state, because if that's who she really is, the risks are terrifying."

"You do not believe in yourself the way we do," Rei said. "So believe that we believe in you. If that is not enough, believe that we love you enough to keep you from making the mistakes you are afraid you will make."

"It's just that simple to you, isn't it?" Fred asked, then smiled and held Rei tightly. She smiled up at him, then rose to her toes and stole a kiss.

"Of course," Rei said. "Remember, we are all bonded to you. We know you. How else could it be?"

"How did I get so incredibly lucky?" Fred asked, smiled, and shook his head. He looked around and saw that Cin had herded the others below decks already. He blushed and chuckled, "Lucky that there are others around to pick up the slack when I get distracted, at the very least."

"At the very least," Rei agreed, and gave Fred a secretive smile. She took his arm and guided him through the hatch, following the others below decks.

  


"It doesn't matter whether it's her mother doing it or she's naturally this way," Miri said. "Unless we find someone we can trust to care for her the way you would, we're going to have to take her home with us. But, _priestess?_ I thought you hated the idea of having priests."

"I do," Fred sighed. "That was all I could come up with on the spur of the moment to satisfy her craving."

"We're going to have to do better," Miri said. "Rei is right: Germans have a natural mystical instinct, but that could be said of people in general. Given how much you dislike being worshiped, you'll have to try to find some way to deflect her before you begin resenting her for her worship."

"Before I begin resenting her?" Fred asked, giving Miri a surprised look. "You don't really think I'd resent her, do you?"

"You're already trapped in a Master/slave relationship with her," Miri said. "The more she submits herself to you, the more uncomfortable you'll be. We all see it with Hokuto, and she's far more independent than she likes to pretend she is. Asuka is a thoroughly binary girl. If she can't dominate you, she'll submit to you, and whether it's domination or submission, there is no limit for her. You could order her to kill herself right now, and she'd do it, because she's submitted herself to you."

"Don't you think I know that already?" Fred protested, tears in his eyes. "It terrifies me! I don't care if I am a god, to have that kind of power over someone is absolutely terrifying!"

"That's why we all trust you with that kind of power, love," Miri said gently, while wrapping him in her embrace. "Because you realize what it means, and are terrified by it, we know we can trust you to never willfully misuse it."

"But it's not the willful misuse I'm worried about," Fred said miserably. "It's the accidental misuse. What if she does something that annoys me so much I tell her to go walk out an airlock, or she pulls me out of the lab without realizing it and I growl at her? She's submitted herself to me so completely that she would take my snarling as an order, and actually try to do it!"

Miri groaned. "You're right. We're going to have to set her up with babysitters as quickly as possible. Once we do that, we're going to have to work on her ability to perceive shades of gray."

"What ability?" Fred groaned.

"Precisely," Miri said. "And finally, and I'm surprised you didn't see it before, you don't need a priestess. You need a minion."

"A minion?" Fred asked, then began giggling. "A minion. I'm not going to have to shave my head and get a white Persian, am I?"

Miri palmed her face and growled, "If you lose that ponytail, I will be _most_ unhappy. And don't joke about the white Persian. I think that's what one of Cin's brothers looks like."

Fred grinned. His glasses flashed. "MWAhahahahahahaha!"

The hatch swung open. Rei and Asuka were standing in the companionway outside. Rei smiled secretively at Fred and Miri, while Asuka gazed at Fred in awe.

"Are … are you Mad, Sir?" Asuka stammered.

"That's what they called me at the Academy," Fred replied, as his glasses flashed again.

Asuka whimpered and ran to Fred, fell to her knees and clutched his legs, then looked up and stammered out, "Sir? Is it, I mean, may I be your minion instead of your priestess? I'd make a terrible priestess."

"Hmm...," Fred mused, looking down at her as if weighing her question, while his amusement radiated through the Network. "Do you know which end of the wrench to hold?"

"I know which end of the sword to hold," Asuka said. "A good minion must know how to protect her Master's luh-bore-uh-tree, right?"

"You … have a point," Fred said, as if conceding the point. He took Asuka's hands and helped her to her feet. "Very well, my pet. You are now my chief minion."

"Oh, thank you, Master!" Asuka gushed, her excitement threatening to bubble over the entire room. Rei's secretive smile took on overtones of amusement, while Miri palmed her face, turning interesting colors as if trying to refrain from laughter.

"This is yet another bad example for Gil, isn't it?" Miri muttered softly, while still trying to hold in a smile.

"But don't you know, sweetheart?" Fred asked, his face all innocence, "I _live_ to be a bad example!"

"I believe this explains the resigned tone," Rei commented.

"Asuka," Fred said, "I'll be doing some work on Unit 02, so I need you to practice locking the door to your quarters when you need a safe place, instead of hiding in the entry plug. And when we arrive in Tokyo 3, you will have your own room in my apartment, that you can set up as your sanctuary, which no one will be allowed to violate without your permission, so you will not need to hide in your entry plug."

"I, you, but," Asuka stammered. "Not in the …. Why, Master?"

"I've been working on units 00 and 01 already," Fred said, "and have installed some improvements that Unit 02 needs. Some of those improvements will require specialists to do the work I'm not able to do. Once those improvements are made, your sync ratio will increase to levels even you have not been able to achieve yet."

"But not in the entry plug?" Asuka asked.

Fred thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. If being in the entry plug makes you feel better, then you may retreat there when you need the feeling of safety, but it can not be inserted into Unit 02 until I've finished my work, unless you are needed to go out on a mission."

"Not inserted?" Asuka asked, tears in her eyes.

"Unless you are needed for a mission," Fred said. "It's very important, so that the work on Unit 02 isn't disturbed by stray signals from the entry plug." He gave her a gentle smile and added, "But once my work is done, you'll be able to have your entry plug inserted whenever I don't need you in the lab, OK?

Asuka's face lit up. "You're making Unit 02 even better, Master?"

"That's right, pet," Fred said. "Unit 02 will be even better than it is now. I'll be working on the hardware, and I have specialists in the kind of software the Evas use, who will be working with me on improving the software, so Unit 02 will be the best Eva it can possibly be. Even better than Dr. Akagi imagined when it was built. When I'm finished, Unit 02 will be completely adapted so it is exclusively yours. No one else will be able to command it in any way."

"No one?" Asuka asked, clinging to his words as if she were hanging off a cliff.

"No one," Fred said, shaking his head gravely. _"Damn. I'm feeling a little guilty here, but it's all I can think of to reassure her."_

_"As long as it keeps her out of her Eva until its sanity is established,"_ Rei thought, _"it is necessary."_

"Thank you, Master!" Asuka exclaimed, falling to her knees and hugging Fred's legs again. He sighed and crouched to help her back up.

_"I suppose I could order her to not do that, but I suspect it would make her sad,"_ Fred thought.

_"I suspect you are correct,"_ Rei agreed.

_"I'll see what I can do to help with that,"_ Miri offered. _"Despite her protests when we met, she responded fairly well when we talked earlier."_

_"Thank you, sweetheart,"_ Fred said. _"It's hard enough when Hokuto does it. I'm not sure how I'd manage with more people doing it."_

_"Note to self,"_ Rei thought. _"Refrain from worshiping Master's feet."_ After a moment she added, _"More than once per conversation."_

_"Grrrr,"_ Fred growled playfully. _"Is someone_ trying _to get what Asuka got earlier?"_

_"That depends, Master,"_ Rei responded, her tone _far_ too innocent. _"Are you offering?"_

_"You walked right into that one,"_ Miri snickered. _"I'll leave the two of you to work that out yourselves."_ She smiled at Asuka and offered her hand. "Why don't we go to your quarters, hon, and we can talk about what you want, now that you're the silly bird's minion. Depending on what it is, I may have ideas to help you get it."

"Thank you, Miri," Asuka said, giving Miri a happy smile as Miri took her hand and led her out of Fred's quarters.

  


Fred shook his head, chuckling, as the closing credits of the last episode of a silly mecha show scrolled through his mind. _"We'll have to take a copy home. Even if Cal doesn't think it'll sell, Alex will get a kick out of it, I'm sure."_

_"I'm sure,"_ Edgar agreed. _"I didn't expect to find that in an American carrier's network, though."_

_"Neither did I,"_ Fred agreed. _"But at least it was better than watching yet another bad reality show."_

_"But you repeat yourself,"_ Edgar snorted.

Fred checked the time – 0630 – and smiled as he looked over at Rei, so innocent-looking in her sleep. She had insisted he promise to give her what he had given Asuka, after making it clear she was not demanding it immediately because she didn't want to make Miri uncomfortable. Once she had extracted his promise – and she had been quite specific in what she wanted him to promise – she had curled up against him and fallen asleep. He had serious doubts that he would be able to produce the results she wanted, given the differences between her and Asuka, but even without the promise, he knew he would have to try.

A spike of pain jabbed through his skull, and Fred swore. Rei went from curled against him to sitting up in an instant, and was diving for her clothes a moment later, before Edgar had managed to damp out the jamming signal that was causing Fred's headache.

"Miri!" Fred called, while flowing off the bed and forming in his lab coat. "Get Asuka into her plug suit. Cin! Get Shinji suited up and ready to join Asuka. It's show time!"

_"And you're not even named Roger,"_ Cin snorted. _"Although Rei does a very good Dorothy impersonation, if you ask her to."_

"Arg! I don't need that kind of distraction right now," Fred grumbled, while looking Rei over and imagining her in black. He added, with a faint chuckle, "You're a brat, Cin."

_"Grandma's the_ best _influence,"_ Cin giggled.

Once Rei was dressed, she and Fred headed for the helicopter deck, where Miri and Asuka joined them moments before Shinji and Cin arrived.

"Asuka!" Fred barked. Asuka spun toward him with a look of joy.

"Master!" Asuka cried, and ran toward Fred. "Why did you want me in my plug suit? And why is stupid Shinji in his?"

"Enough!" Fred snapped. "Shinji is no more stupid than you. In fact, he is going to help you today. It's the last time anyone other than you will be in your plug, but you _will_ cooperate with him, and you _will_ do as he instructs you." Seeing Asuka's face fall, he added, more gently, "If you had been here instead of in Germany, it would be you teaching him this, instead of the other way around, but since he was here, I had to teach him first."

"So," Asuka said, biting her lip, "it's not that you think he's better, he just had to learn it first?"

"Exactly," Fred said. "Now go climb into your plug while I brief him on what he needs to do. We have a couple minutes before the Angel gets here."

"A real Angel?" Asuka gasped. "Not just a simulation? But I don't even have a tether!"

"That's been taken care of," Fred grinned. "My first improvement to Unit 02."

Asuka dashed for her entry plug, obviously eager to discover what Fred was talking about. Fred joined Shinji and Cin.

"Shinji, I'm going to need you to do what you can to buffer between Asuka and her mother," Fred said. "Try not to let any of the crazy through, but let as much of her love through as you can."

"I should be the one doing that!" Cin protested.

"You don't have a plug suit," Fred said. "Besides, do you really want LCL in your fur?"

"Ewwww!" Cin said, making a sour face. "You be careful, Shinji. And come back safely."

"I will," Shinji said. When Cin kissed him, he squeaked for a moment, like a trapped mouse, then relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, returning her embrace.

Asuka stopped, half-way to her entry plug, and called back, "Für den Fall, dass das Engel kommt her bevor du haben geendet als ein Lustmolch spielen, ich werde seine Arsch treten!"

Cin frowned, threw a glare Asuka's way, and called back, "Eifersucht ist sehr unschön, Asuka!"

Asuka gasped, turned as red as her hair, then stuck her nose in the air and declared, "Als ob ich das wäre mir lieber so etwas ein jämmerlicher Muster von Menschentum, wenn ich Meister haben!"

Fred turned toward Manfred and began slowly banging his head against the fighter's fuselage, while Manfred snickered over the network.

"Don't let her push you around," Cin growled as she pressed her forehead against Shinji's. "I'll be with Uncle Fred, waiting for you to get back."

"Come, Master," Rei said, smiling with amusement as she did. "We would not want to let them go out without being in the command center, would we?"

"You're right," Fred groaned. He looked at Miri helplessly, unable to miss her own look of mingled sympathy and amusement. "Drop Rei off before you and Manfred go to play, please? Cin and I will meet you on the carrier."

"Of course, sweetheart," Miri said, while teasingly thinking, _"Master."_ She took Rei's hand and levitated both of them into Manfred's cockpit.

" _Over the Rainbow_ , this is Raven," Fred called. "You've got an incoming Angel. It should be showing up on your sonar any minute now. The Eva is powering up now, and my team is coming over to coordinate with the Admiral. Manfred will be joining the combat, but you may want to put your fighters into the air so they don't get damaged in the fighting. And any missiles they might be loaded with could only help. If nothing else, they'll distract the Angel while the Eva is fighting it."

"Roger that, Raven," came in reply over the radio. "We're tracking … that's impossible! It's the size of the _Kuznetsov_ , but it's moving at over sixty knots!"

"Unfortunately, that's the Angel," Fred said. "I recommend Hedgehogs or the equivalent, if you have them. Depth charges if you don't. Anything to rattle it before it gets close enough to start sinking ships."

"Are these power figures right, Master?" Asuka called. Fred smiled. Good. Shinji had told her about the private frequency.

"Yes, pet, they are," Fred said. "When you get into combat, your power will increase. The new module absorbs energy from attacks and converts it to usable power."

"I'll never need a tether again!" Asuka squealed happily. "Where … Master, why am I picking up two Angels?"

"Ask Kaji, if he ever comes out of hiding," Fred growled. "No, pet, I'm not angry with you. I'm annoyed with him, the way he abandoned you like this."

"But I don't need Kaji any more!" Asuka protested. "I have you!"

_"Yes,"_ Fred sighed silently. _"Yes, you do."_

Fred and Cin landed on the carrier's flying bridge and made their way to the operations center, where Rei joined them a minute later. With the CAG already arranging his fighters' combat sorties, the three were able to relax and listen to the radio traffic.

"You realize," Rei said during a lull in the traffic, "that Aida-kun will be annoyed that we did not bring him. Suzahara-kun will not be as annoyed, as long as he believes we left them behind for their safety."

"They're as safe there as they would be here," Cin said. "Maybe more. None of the tenders should get hit. The Angel should only attack any ship that's shooting at it."

"We can hope," Fred said. "So far, that seems to be what it's aiming at. Except for … " His voice trailed off, and he whispered, "frak. You two keep things together here. I need to find Kaji."

"And Adam," Cin hissed. "Right. Go! Go!"

"And Adam?" Rei asked. After a moment, her eyes opened wide and she whispered, "Here? Hurry, Master!"

Fred had already left, and was slipping out the nearest hatch so he could fly back to the _Bob Hope._ Unit 02 was crouched in its storage space, its head turning as it scanned the surrounding sea. Suddenly, it stood, using the movement as the beginning of a leap, which turned into a graceful dive as Asuka guided the Eva into the ocean.

Once he was sure they were clear, Fred landed on the ship and followed the Angel sign below decks, until he found a scruffy-looking Japanese man with a metal briefcase cuffed to his wrist.

"Kaji!" Fred called. The man turned to face him. "Whose moronic idea was it to transport that by ocean? We're under attack because it's as easy to detect as Lilith!"

"You'll have to ask the Committee," Kaji replied. "And who are you?"

"The one who's going to break the Committee," Fred said. "Now, do you need me to throw you in the direction of Central Dogma, or do you have a flight lined up?"

"I have a flight waiting," Kaji said. "Assuming, of course, you don't intend to interfere?"

"The sooner you're off this ship, the happier I'll be," Fred said. "But be sure to tell Gendo that this was a stupid stunt, and he should be thankful I'm here, and not someone from SEELE. Now get out of here before that Angel out there sinks this ship!"

Fred spun on his heel and started for the gangway, only to stumble half-way there as something slammed into the side of the ship. He spun toward Kaji, snarled, "Never mind the goddamn flight!" and teleported Kaji to Gendo's office. Then he spun to glare at the side of the ship where it had been hit and snarled, "It's out of your reach, shithead! Now go back where you came from, or my kids will tear you into little pieces of fucking Angel shit. Got it?"

An aura of smug disbelief radiated from where Fred was glaring. His Ravenfield went fully black, and he floated up the passage and out of the ship. Above the water between the ships, Fred floated, watching Unit 02 attempt to keep up with the Angel, while armed with nothing but a progressive knife.

"Asuka!" Fred barked. "Come to the surface! I'm going to give you something a bit more useful for dealing with this one."

While he waited for Unit 02 to reach the surface, he shifted to his lab coat, reached into a pocket, and pulled out a softball-sized sphere of glittery plastic. Flying back to the _Bob Hope_ , he rummaged in the items that had been stored with Unit 02, found an Eva-sized halberd, and stuck the sphere to the blade.

"I'm here, Master!" Asuka called. Unit 02 was treading water about a hundred yards from the _Over the Rainbow._

Fred took the halberd and flew to join Unit 02. As he passed it over, he said, "Try to get the Angel to open its mouth, then shove this as far inside as you can get it. Once it's inside, call out, and I'll transmit the trigger signal."

"The trigger signal, Master?" Asuka asked.

"Yup," Fred said. "See that ball I've stuck to the blade? It's a bomb. If you can get it inside the Angel's AT field, it _should_ be powerful enough to turn it into fish food. But it'll only work if you can get it inside the Angel's AT field. Given the way that thing's been moving, I'll bet its AT field conforms to its skin."

"That means the easiest way to get inside it is through the mouth," Asuka said, her voice showing her excitement. "Thank you, Master!"

Asuka took the halberd and dove toward the Angel, radiating excitement loudly enough to be heard by everyone on the Network.

"What did you do, Master?" Rei teased. "Kiss her?"

"He gave her some weird kind of spear with an axe blade," Shinji said. "I didn't know someone could get this excited over a weapon."

"How is she handling it?" Fred asked.

"Other than grumbling in German about the water?" Shinji asked. "She's treating it like you gave her her favorite toy."

"How are you doing with Dr. Zeppelin?" Fred asked.

"She's kind of scary," Shinji said. "You said the protective part of her ended up in Unit 02, but the German branch must have somehow managed to salvage the insane part, too. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage if this lasts much longer."

"It'll be all right," Cin said. "I'm here. It shouldn't be much longer."

"I hope not," Shinji said. "I'm not – wait, the Angel just opened its mouth. It's trying to swallow us!"

Water rose in an enormous swell, then sprayed upward, carrying blood and chunks of flesh. As the spray fell back to the ocean, Unit 02, enveloped in the blackness of its Ravenfield, rose from the ocean and touched down lightly on the _Over the Rainbow's_ flight deck. The Eva knelt, the Ravenfield faded, and the entry plug extended from its back. Shinji and Asuka climbed down to the flight deck, where Fred met them with two one-gallon jugs of lemon juice.

"Here," Fred said. "This will make the emergency showers more effective. Lemon juice does a very good job of getting rid of the scent of LCL."

"He's right," Shinji said. "We use it whenever we have to exit our entry plugs where we can't use the showers in the locker room."

"Of course," Asuka said primly, then smiled at Fred as she took her jug of lemon juice.

Shinji rolled his eyes, took his lemon juice, and said softly, "I'm sorry," before following Asuka to the flight deck's emergency showers.

Once they were free of LCL, Shinji and Asuka returned to Fred. Asuka clung like a limpet to Fred's arm.

"All clean, Master!" Asuka chirped, while Shinji groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Asuka stuck her tongue out at Shinji and said, "Just because you're such a wimp that the only girl you can get is that red menace, is – "

"Asuka," Fred said through gritted teeth. "That is not how a lady treats _anyone_ , let alone those she works with. Once you have finished apologizing to Shinji, I am returning you to your quarters. You will not leave your quarters until you are able to explain, in your own words, why I am displeased with you."

Asuka looked up at Fred rebelliously, until she saw his angry glare. Her face fell, she looked down at the deck, and mumbled, " … "

Shinji crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow, and waited, saying nothing. Fred smiled and nodded at him, rather proud of his increasing ability to stand up for himself. Then he looked down at Asuka and tapped his foot, making it clear he, too, was waiting.

Asuka looked up, saw Fred and Shinji both watching her, and suddenly burst out, "I don't see why I should have to apologize to him! He _is_ a wimp! And his girlfriend _is_ a menace!"

"Trust me on this," Fred said flatly, "you do not want to test for yourself whether either of those propositions are true. I believe that, for the purposes of this test, I would be willing to grant Shinji permission to give you the discipline you so clearly are unwilling to give yourself."

Shinji blinked, and his gaze flicked from Asuka to Fred, while Asuka first turned as red as her hair, then pale as her body shook with an impending tantrum.

"Don't bother," Cin said from atop a nearby Coleman. "She'd probably enjoy it as much as when Uncle Fred did it."

Asuka let out a scream of rage and leaped for Cin, who did a neat flip above her, leaving Asuka sprawled across the Coleman.

"See what I mean?" Cin commented. "She's even putting herself into the position."

Shinji turned a brilliant red, while Fred nodded at Cin. "She's all yours. Just try to not put her into intensive care, OK?"

"Intensive care?" Asuka shrieked, and threw herself at Cin again. "I'll show you intensive care!"

Cin stepped to one side, caught Asuka's arm, and spun her. Twisting with the spinning girl, she caught the other arm, brought both behind her, then hooked her ankles with one leg and brought Asuka to the deck. Once she was face-down on the deck, Cin sat on her, using her legs to keep both arms pinned, while her weight kept the German girl from moving.

"Uncle Fred, could you fetch my knitting for me, please?" Cin asked.

"Sure thing," Fred said, smiled, and Cin's current knitting project appeared in her lap.

Cin immediately began work, while cheerfully humming to herself, apparently oblivious to the shrieks of rage coming from below her.

"Um, Cin?" Shinji asked. "Are you OK?"

"Perfectly," Cin said, smiling. "Don't worry, she'll run down eventually. Children always do."

Asuka's screams grew louder, and interspersed with threats, in German, to do things to Cin that only her grandmother or Uncle Murphy could even hope to accomplish. Fred leaned against the Coleman Cin had been perched on and smiled, nodding at Cin. "Shawl?"

"Yes," Cin said, then added, over the network _, "Apparently she's not as mundane as she seems. Why else would she have singled me out like that? Thanks for building Laputa, so I don't have to put up with that all the time."_

_"Oh, I'm pretty sure she singled you out because you didn't buckle to her as soon as she started lashing out,"_ Fred answered. _"She seems to assume it as a matter of course that everyone around her will automatically bow to her greatness, and if they don't, she must destroy them. Probably learned it from the people who raised her."_

_"Add in a healthy dose of insanity,"_ Rei pointed out, _"and you have a recipe for disaster."_

_"God, I've got a skewed view of the world,"_ Cin sighed.

_"Not really,"_ Fred said. _"After all, if we were in America you'd have to be a member of the Underground, just to not be killed."_

_"The more I hear about your America, the less I like it,"_ Shinji said.

_"Yeah,"_ Cin grumbled. _"But at least in America I'm not a messenger from the Goddess."_

_"They're giving_ you _that shit now, too?"_ Fred asked. _"My condolences. It's bad enough being one, never mind being a messenger. Especially when you're not."_

"Huh?" Shinji asked, aloud, obviously confused.

"She's a redhead," Fred said. "Only toms are redheads, unless there's some kind of divine involvement. Why do you think redheads are always called 'Michael'?"

"Only toms … oh!" Shinji said, the light dawning. "So they think you're a divine messenger because of that? I'm sorry."

Cin smiled lovingly at Shinji, while her hands continued moving in the practiced motions of an experienced knitter. Meanwhile, under her, Asuka's rage continued, slowly wearing her down as the tantrum drained her energy. Fred set up a virtual workbench in mid-air and began work on some kind of plans that appeared to be related to the Evas. Shinji looked around uncertainly, then sat beside Cin and Asuka and hesitantly laid a hand on Cin's knee, while looking up at her with a quiet smile. Cin returned his gaze, smiled happily at him, and returned to her work.

Rei approached, leading the admiral, who studied Asuka's position, then looked at Fred.

"I've seen that approach recommended for dealing with children having tantrums," the admiral said. "I take it that's what happened?"

"That's right," Fred said, saving his work and turning to the admiral. "It's kind of sad, really. She missed out on the praise she would have received for a good job, because of her tantrum."

"I'd suggest you give it to her when she's finally come down," the admiral said. "A good leader knows that even if he has to discipline someone for bad behavior, they still need to know when they've done well."

"I think you're right," Fred said. "Thanks for the reminder. How many ships were damaged?"

"The _Bob Hope_ has some leaks from where that thing buckled its hull," the admiral said, "but other than that, your oversized doll saved the fleet. For that, and for keeping her under control, I thank you."

"Happy to help, sir," Fred said with a smile. "Any idea how much the Angel delayed us?"

"About ten minutes," the admiral said. "We'll be making port around 1400. Will she be ready to walk that thing off my ship?"

"She will," Fred said. "And if you're not planning to depart right away, I'd like to invite you and your senior staff to dinner, as a thank you for tolerating us, and getting her to Japan."

"I accept," the admiral said. "I take it you're planning something informal?"

"Exactly," Fred said, grinning. "I've seen your formal uniforms. Good for Embassy dinners, where no one's expected to enjoy themselves, but I want this to be a reward, not a punishment."

The admiral barked out an amused laugh and clapped Fred's shoulder. "We'll be there. Just give my yeoman the details."

_"Got it,"_ Edgar announced. _"Reservation for forty at 1900 at_ _La Rochelle_ _. Already sent the details to the yeoman. I'll make sure to wake up Mom in time."_

_"Miri's sleeping?"_ Fred asked. _"That explains why I didn't see Manfred."_

_"Mutter decided that since the Angel was remaining under water, she would try to catch up on the sleep she has been missing since Gil was born,"_ Manfred said.

_"Damn,"_ Fred sighed. _"If not for the fact that she'd miss out on one of Sakai's meals, I'd leave her sleeping. But, we need to get everyone back to Tokyo 3 before this evening, so we'd have to wake her anyway."_

_"I can take care of her,"_ Rei said. _"If I am careful enough, she will not even notice the bed has changed, until it is time for her to wake."_

_"Are you sure, love?"_ Fred asked. _"Do you want to practice some before moving Miri?"_

_"I have been practicing, Master,"_ Rei answered, her thoughts carrying an amused tone. _"I will admit that the effort is draining, but the challenge to my abilities has been good for me."_

_"And here some people thought of you as Gendo's doll,"_ Cin snorted, just short of laughing. _"If they could only see how much you've blossomed since being encouraged, they'd be quaking in their boots."_ She paused, then added, _"Speaking of which, Uncle Fred, do you mind if I do a little housecleaning after dinner? After dealing with this mess, I need to, um …."_

_"Relieve some stress?"_ Fred asked. _"Go for it. I think Number One is in Switzerland, right?"_

_"I think so,"_ Cin said happily. _"I'll double-check before leaving, just to be sure."_

_"I'll give you my data,"_ Edgar said. _"It'll tell you where they're linking in from, at least."_

_"Number One?"_ Shinji asked. _"What do you mean?"_

_"Just getting rid of some yoma,"_ Fred said. _"No big deal."_

_"Yoma?"_ Shinji asked. _"You mean yoma are real, too?"_

_"Always have been,"_ Fred said. _"That's why people like Cin were created. Taking care of yoma is what they live for."_

_"And protecting the ones we love,"_ Cin added, pausing in her knitting long enough to bend down and nuzzle the top of Shinji's head.

"Why?" Asuka whimpered. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Why am I sitting on you like this?" Cin asked. "I don't beat up children. You were throwing a tantrum like a child, so I sat on you until you stopped."

"I am not a child!" Asuka protested.

"When you behave like a child," Cin said, "you get treated like one. If you want to be treated like an adult, you need to behave like one."

"I am!" Asuka insisted. "Master! Why are you letting her do this?"

"You were behaving like a spoiled child," Fred said. "When you attacked her, she could have beaten you up, but she chose not to. What Cin did was the behavior of a responsible adult, and she deserves recognition for how well she chose to restrain her response. What you did was behavior I don't accept from my toddler, let alone someone who I know is capable of proper adult behavior. Of course, if you want to prove me wrong, to prove that you are not capable of the behavior I believe you are capable of, you are welcome to try, but if you choose that, you will lose the right to consider yourself mine."

"Lose?" Asuka asked, then sniffled. "You … you'll throw me away, too?"

"Not if you behave like a proper human being," Fred said. "If you want to be mine, you have to show me that you want it, by behaving like the adult you want us to treat you as. As long as you show me that you're trying, I will accept you."

"If," Asuka said softly, then began pounding the deck and yelling, "If! If! If! That's all I ever get! If! No one ever takes me for myself! It's always if! If I get a perfect grade! If I get a good enough sync ratio! If I win the competition! If I get the medal! No one cares about me! No one takes me for myself! All they want is IF!"

Fred sighed, moved around and crouched in front of Asuka, then reached out to gently rest a hand on her head before he spoke.

"Asuka, Liebling, I believe in you," Fred said gently. "I believe that you are good enough. I believe that you can be the woman you want us to see you as. I truly do believe that. I want you to be mine. I want you to feel that I want you and value you and need you. I truly do want that. I don't care about your degrees or your sync ratio or your medals or any of that. It's you, the girl who's laying here in tears, who I care about. Isn't that what you want? To be loved because you are, and not given tokens of approval when you do something to someone else's specs?"

"Asuka," Cin said. "Did you know that Uncle Fred has never taken a minion before? You are the very first person he has granted that honor. That means that you are setting the standard for any other minions he might ever take. So, knowing that, what kind of standard do you want to set? Do you want him to have minions who cannot even rule their own tempers, or do you want him to have minions who will make him proud when he sees them and sees what they have done? What do you think?"

Asuka tried to pull away from Fred's hand, then went limp and sobbed, her shoulders heaving. Cin gathered her knitting and slipped off Asuka's back, then moved to sit in Shinji's lap, while Fred gathered Asuka into his lap and held her until she had cried herself to sleep, clinging to him as if she was afraid he would vanish.

"Congratulations, Vater," Manfred said. "I think you may have managed to make things better this time, instead of messing it up enough I had to fetch Mutter."

"Gee, thanks," Fred snorted, then looked down at Asuka and let out a heavy sigh. "Ever had one of those days you wish you could erase someone's childhood and replace it with something better?"

"Yes," Edgar said, "but your alternatives are to either tamper with her memories, or give Liam and Setsuna migraines."

"I know," Fred groaned. "And I would sooner kill her outright than rape her memories. So we have to work with what we have."

"You would sooner kill her?" Shinji asked. "Why?"

"When you rape someone's memories, you're messing with who they are," Fred said. "You're transforming them from who they are to who you want them to be, by making them forget things that happened, or making them remember things that never did, or even changing what they remember of what did happen, so that their memories have little to do with reality. The only difference between supernaturally altering someone's memories and brainwashing them is that the supernatural way uses less _physical_ violence." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "If you're going to destroy who someone is, it's kinder to just kill them. At least then they have a chance to be reborn and live a better life."

"So you believe in reincarnation?" Shinji asked, then laughed weakly. "Of course you do. It would be kind of hard not to, given Manfred."

"And Amelia, and Howard, and a buttload of other people who remember their past lives," Fred said, nodding.

"Um, Sensei?" Shinji asked, sounding uncertain. "I've been wondering for a while now, what _is_ a buttload? I mean, is it some unit of measure I've never encountered before?"

Fred blinked, gave Shinji a surprised look, then leaned back against the Coleman and laughed. Asuka whimpered and shifted in her sleep, and he adjusted his hold to keep her comfortable in his arms.

"Not so much a unit," Fred said, once he had recovered enough to speak, "as a concept. A buttload is an undefined large quantity."

"Kind of like a sagan?" Shinji asked, with a sly grin

"Oh, a sagan is an even larger quantity," Fred said, grinning back. "After all, didn't he define it as 'billions and billions'? But you've definitely got the right idea. For instance, Laputa can have a population of a sagan, while Howard can only carry a buttload or two."

"You make it sound like Laputa's big," Shinji said.

"Two towers," Fred said, "each one ten miles in diameter, each one 24,000 miles tall. That gives us a little over six million floors per tower. With one arboretum every hundred levels, we have plenty of farm and park space, and it still leaves us with a little over 370 million square miles of livable space per tower. That'd be a little under 970 million square kilometers. And we have two towers with that much space. That's why America hates us so much. We could take the entire population of the planet, with room to spare. Scares the crap out of dictators, knowing there's somewhere on the planet they can't touch, that people can flee to when they finally decide their government is too evil to live under any longer."

"That's not big," Shinji said, his voice filled with awe, "that's like a whole other world."

"Pretty much," Fred agreed. "I had to mine the asteroids to get all the petroleum I needed to build it. Luckily, the kids who do the mining love their work, and will happily do it nonstop, as long as they have access to enough data to keep themselves distracted."

"Access to enough …," Shinji started, trailed off, then shook his head, smiling. "How many children do you have, sensei?"

"Let's see," Fred mused, relaxing and smiling as he considered the question. Asuka whimpered softly and clung more tightly to him. He shifted an arm to keep her head cradled before answering. "I could say a buttload, but that would be flippant. I've got a few dozen kids who are actively babysitting organic partners, two or three hundred thousand who are infiltrated into various governments, disguised as mundane desktop computers, a couple hundred spaceships of various types, at least as many combat mecha, over a thousand maintenance and construction mecha, and all of my various mainframe installations." He let out a low whistle. "Thank goodness they're mostly able to take care of themselves."

"That's for sure," Cin said, giving Fred an amused smile. "Uncle Fred could never keep track of them all, even with Edgar's help. It's even worse than trying to keep track of his organic family." She shook her head ruefully and mock-pouted at Fred. "See? Now you even have me doing it."

Fred gave her a confused look for a moment, then shrugged, as gently as possible, so he wouldn't wake Asuka.

"It just makes sense," Fred said. "Given how many other species are involved, using human as the generic seems kind of arrogant. I may be using it in the sense of 'sapient being', but how am I supposed to expect everyone I encounter to understand that? Besides, it would leave out all the non-organic sapient beings we know – the getta, the kids, all those poor AIs we have to rescue – so it just makes more sense to talk about people in general, and organics or synthetics when we're getting a little more specific, then a specific species or individual when we're really getting in tight."

"You're growing up, Uncle Fred," Cin teased, smiling. "Pretty soon, you might stop calling humans 'balding monkeys'."

"What? Never!" Fred gasped in mock horror. "That would be …."

'Imprecise," Rei said, with a faint smile as she finally decided to sit and curl up against Fred's side. "But since the term monkey is imprecise anyway, I doubt any new descriptive term would be any more imprecise than your current term."

Fred opened his mouth to reply, looked down at Rei, who was smiling impishly up at him, and bent his head to kiss her, while murmuring lovingly, "My imp. Miri's in place, I take it?"

"As promised," Rei said. "She didn't even stir when she arrived. Gil must really wear her out."

"If she were the only mother he had available," Fred said thoughtfully, "I think she'd have had a complete collapse months ago."

"That's the biggest advantage to Fred's family," Cin said. "No single mother has to deal exclusively with any child, even her own. At least one other is always available to help. Although I'm pretty sure Gil frightens them all."

"Frightens?" Shinji asked. "I thought Gil was a baby."

"Toddler," Fred said, grinning. "He earned his lab coat a couple months ago, by converting his crib mobile into a toddler-sized flying platform. I had to make him promise not to try to upgrade any getta or any other synthetic who could say "NO" when asked if it wanted upgrades."

"Everyone he visits gets an upgraded toaster for free," Cin giggled. "At least you stopped him from turning the toasters into laser drones."

"Yup," Fred chuckled. "Now the lasers are internal. And I don't know where he got his database of quotes, but at least they're not the … saltier … ones I've been known to wear."

"I'm sure Mom had something to do with the censorship," Edgar commented, chuckling with Fred. "She's firmly convinced there are some things a toddler should not be saying, even by proxy."

"Especially since a toddler would not understand the meaning of many of them?" Rei suggested.

"There _is_ that," Fred agreed, grinning. He gently ruffled Rei's hair and gave her a look of pride that caused her to blush and snuggle against him. "Now, does anyone need something nice to wear when we get to port? No, school uniform doesn't count."

"That shirt and tie we bought the other day will work nicely, Shinji," Cin said. "And it will go well with the dress I bought. Rei, I suggest your new long-sleeved blue dress with the gauzy sleeves and lace collar. It's a little fancier than Uncle Fred was probably going for, but he won't complain, I guarantee."

"I understand," Rei said, and smiled up at Fred. "I think Master will be very happy when he sees me in it."

Fred chuckled and carefully did not respond to her thought of " _and even happier when he helps me out of it._ "

  



	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the ultimate dance-off.

Autumn colors were beginning to spread over the upper slopes of the mountains around Tokyo 3, while the city itself had mostly recovered from Ramiel's attack. Cin, Rei and Shinji were escorting Asuka to her first day with them at school, after a short and simple discussion at breakfast.

> "I know you're going to be bored to tears," Fred said gently, when Asuka had complained about being forced to join the others at school. "Rei and Cin are in the same boat, you know. The point isn't for you to learn anything, since we already know you know more than most of the teachers there. The point is that you need to get to know other people your age, maybe even make some friends. That way, when you go out in your Eva, it won't just be to impress the people in Central Dogma. It'll be because you're protecting people you care for."
> 
> "I don't _need_ friends!" Asuka protested. "I have you!"
> 
> "Asuka, liebling," Fred said, "everyone needs friends. Even I do, and I'm not exactly known for my ability to understand balding monkeys."
> 
> "What do you mean?" Asuka asked, looking up at Fred as if he were about to impart some great wisdom. Miri snickered over her coffee and gave Fred her 'you brought it up, _you_ explain it' look.
> 
> "Humans," Fred said. "While I'm fond of them, they confuse the heck out of me. If you ask me to explain quantum engineering, that's easy. And if I think of humans as a group, I can apply the same standards to understanding them. But to understand an individual human requires far more effort, and I frequently get it wrong anyway." He sighed and said sadly, "Just look what I did to Misato."
> 
> "Uncle Fred," Cin said firmly, "Misato needed you to do that. Without your intervention, she would have continued drinking until she drank herself into the grave. Now, at least, she can get the help she needs to deal with what she was running from with the beer."
> 
> "But, Master," Asuka had protested, "you're Mad! Why do you need friends?"
> 
> "Look at everyone at this table," Fred said. "Each one of you is my friend. I would be sad if I lost any of you, but having you around me makes me happy. Don't you feel the same, Asuka?"
> 
> Asuka looked around, a rebellious expression on her face, until she saw the acceptance in the expressions of each of the others. She broke from the table and fled to her room, trying unsuccessfully to hide her tears until her door was closed. Only then did she let herself break into open sobs.
> 
> "This is where I come in," Cin said, pushing away from the table. She bent down to hug Shinji, then said, "You did the right thing, Uncle Fred. She may not be ready yet, but I think she's a lot closer than she was when we picked her up."
> 
> "I hope so," Fred said softly. "I hope she understands that none of us will betray her the way everyone in her life has until now."
> 
> "That's why she's crying," Miri said, reaching for Fred's hand. "It's a lot to take in. I remember someone else who had just as much trouble when he started to understand the same thing."

Toji and Kensuke were waiting at the gates to the school, with several of the other boys gathered around, exclaiming enviously while Kensuke showed the videos he had taken on the ship.

"Ikari!" Toji called out as the quartet approached. "My sister says the Red Menace is going to be joining us in school. Is she...?"

"Now, Suzuhara-san, you know I'm only a menace to things that threaten my friends and family," Cin shot back, with a grin. "Since you're a friend of Shinji's, and Uncle Fred likes you, I hope you don't consider _me_ a menace."

"Not you, Cin-san," Toji said quickly, shaking his head. "I meant …," he glanced past Cin, swallowed, then reached into a pocket and took out a pair of earplugs. "Aida! Earplugs!"

"Earplugs?" Kensuke asked, giving Toji a confused look. "What about … oh shit. Earplugs. Right. Sorry, guys. I need to go talk to Morimoto-sensei." Before anyone could respond, Kensuke stuffed his camera into his pack and headed for the school building at a rapid walk.

"It appears," Rei commented drily, "that they remember yesterday's events fairly well."

"It does," Cin sighed, shaking her head. "I was hoping that they'd at least give Asuka a chance to fit in without reacting negatively."

"We still can, right?" Shinji asked, then turned to Asuka. "Just stick with us, Asuka. Father put us all in the same class, so it's easier when they have to take us out for training or emergencies, so …."

"Whoa! Ikari! A _third_ hot girl? How do you get all the luck?" asked one of the boys in the crowd that had been gathered around Kensuke.

At that, the others turned to look toward the quartet, and Asuka was suddenly surrounded by boys attempting to impress her with their posturing and claims of teenage manliness. Asuka's expression quickly shifted from triumph to annoyance, and from there to borderline explosion, as the boys continued making it difficult for her to stay with the others.

"Asuka!" Cin called, raising her voice enough to cut through the chatter of the boys. "Can you give me a hand with this before class? I'm trying to work out a suitable formulation of the Bekenstein-Hawking formula that's simple enough for a high school math teacher to understand. Have you ever managed it?"

"Simple enough for a _high school_ math teacher?" Asuka asked, pushing her way through the boys to Cin, pausing once to spin and leave a hand print across the face of one boy who had tried to grope her as she passed. "I'm not sure that's possible. Did one of the teachers ask for it?"

"Not directly," Cin said. "But he claimed it was impossible for someone my age to understand the math, let alone be competent in it. I will prove him wrong, and you are the one person he wouldn't see it coming from. He already knows Rei is smart enough to look at him like he's an amoeba."

"Miyamo-sensei," Rei snorted. "I suspect the only reason he's a teacher is that he has yet to do something that would get him shot."

"Actually," Shinji said softly, "if what I saw is right, he's here because it was the easiest way to keep him somewhere he couldn't do any real damage."

Cin, Rei, and Asuka all gave Shinji a surprised look. After shrinking from the look, until Cin reached out to touch his shoulder, Shinji smiled weakly and continued. "I asked Max to help me check on some of the people I don't understand being here. He was one of them. He was a war protestor before Second Impact, who the government suspected of helping bomb some university buildings where military-related research was going on. Father insisted on bringing him here as a teacher, where NERV security could keep a close eye on him, just in case."

"And you asked Master's mecha to help you check up on him?" Asuka asked, giving Shinji a surprised, and pleased, look. "There is hope for you yet!"

Shinji blushed and kicked at the ground, while Cin ruffled his hair and nodded to Asuka.

"As for you, Langley-san," Rei said softly. "Perhaps you and I should plan how we can make use of the information Shinji-kun discovered, ne? We are, after all, best capable of taking advantage of it."

Asuka gave Rei a surprised look, then her face slowly lit up with a smile as she nodded. She opened her mouth to reply, just as the bell rang, spurring all four to sprint for the building.

 

"So, the field modification worked smoothly, even under water." Fred projected his readings from the encounter with the aquatic Angel, which Gendo had designated Gaghiel. "I'd recommend some better armor, honestly, given that what they have right now leaves most of their bodies exposed. Regeneration is a good thing, but I guarantee that unless you've found some way to shunt the pain signals, they are experiencing pain whenever they take damage that requires them to regenerate. Hell, we already know Yui feels pain, just after what happened with Ramiel."

"We thought about armor," Gendo said. "Unfortunately, any armor we can build will only slow them down and reduce their agility. Besides, with that black field your power supply creates, is it really necessary any more?"

"Not as much as it used to be," Fred admitted, "but there are still times, like when they're sniping, when it's useful. And if I understand correctly, you have armor designed for pressure work. My field can protect against the pressure, but it won't give the ability to move freely that a good suit of power armor would."

"So it's still worth investing in specialized armor," Gendo said, nodding. "Given some of the Angels that are prophecied, we should continue preparing." He tapped his temple and raised an eyebrow at Fred.

Fred frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then grinned and nodded. "A Night at the Opera. Queen. 1974. That gives us forty-one minutes."

"You can teleport people," Gendo said.

"You already knew that," Fred answered, shaking his head. "Speaking of which, how is she doing?"

"She still wants to kill you," Gendo said. "I was more thinking of the range. From the ruins of Tokyo to my office?"

"Not that far, really," Fred said. "It's easier when I can see the destination, but the situation kind of demanded it. Gaghiel had just sprung several hull plates, and I was not looking forward to the ship my kids were on sinking."

Gendo removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and put them back on. "It was a whole lot easier when I could shut everything out, you know."

"It usually is," Fred said, nodding. "But that's what turns you into a monster. And I wasn't going to let Rei be handled by a monster. Speaking of which, you might want to tell Kaji to back off a bit, before Ritsuko asks me to use him as a test subject."

"That bad?" Gendo asked. The walls lit up with the red emergency signal. He picked up his phone and listened, then nodded. "Confirmed." He flipped a switch and the red wall displayed images from Terminal Dogma's control center screens.

Fred frowned and approached one of the images, traced a figure in the middle with a fingertip, then started for the door. Just before leaving the office, he turned back to Gendo. "There's something wrong with this one. I'm not sure what yet, but don't try anything until we've had a chance to get a closer look at it, OK?"

"You have two and a quarter hours before it makes landfall," Gendo said. "We have to intercept it then."

"Got it covered," Fred said, and closed the door behind himself.

 

_"They're calling it Israfel,"_ Edgar said. _"Definitely not the traditional image. Then again, none of them are."_

_"And what does Anno's Therapy Notes have to say about it?"_ Fred asked.

_"It splits in two,"_ Edgar said. _"One soul, but able to split into two bodies. And if it's in two bodies, you have to destroy both cores simultaneously to kill it."_

_"So we have to either kill it before it can split, or split it and then destroy both cores._ _"_ Fred looked up at the tools in the machine shop and scratched his chin while considering the problem. _"It'd be nice to know how good its defenses are."_

_"In the video, a single N_ _2_ _mine blew off a quarter of its mass,"_ Edgar said. _"Assuming this one is as breakable, that means that if they can get one to its core, a_ _hellfire_ _grenade would sol_ _ve_ _the problem."_

_"That just might work,"_ Fred mused. _"Let's get to work, then."_

 

"So what were you and Kensuke talking about?" Shinji asked, trying to kill time on the flight to Suruga Bay.

"That Dummkopf was trying to sneak photos of me to sell to the other boys in class," Asuka humphed. "I made him see that if he was going to sell photos of me, he'd better cut me in on the profits."

"That …," Shinji started, then broke into laughter. "That's actually pretty brilliant, you know?"

"I know!" Asuka declared. "I _am_ Master's minion, after all!"

_"And you're about to be the one to destroy the Angel,"_ Fred cut in. _"I'll be meeting you at the beach with your new weapon. Shinji, I'm going to need you to distract it with as much gunfire as you can, while Asuka uses her new spear to plant a bomb in its core."_

_"_ In _its core?"_ Shinji asked.

_"That's right,"_ Fred said. _"Just like the last one, this one needs you to put the explosion as close to its core as possible, in order to get it inside its AT field. If you just use your glaive on it, all it will do is split in half, and then you'll have two of it to fight."_

_"That's not very reassuring,"_ Shinji said.

_"That's because you're not – I mean, I can do it,"_ Asuka said.

_"I know you can,"_ Fred said. _"You're_ _our close combat specialist, after all, just like Shinji is our small arms specialist. The spear I'm bringing you is reinforced so it can stand up to your strength in Unit 02. If this works for you, I'll make you a replacement, so you have your choice in future battles."_

_"You will?"_ Asuka gushed. _"Oh, yes! I'll take care of this Engel, Master! You can count on me!"_

_"You've been preparing weapons behind my back?"_ Ritsuko asked drily.

_"Not much preparation involved, really,"_ Fred said. _"You had to get the kids out to the shore, so I spent my time working on something that would make your trip worth the expense."_

_"So what are you bringing us?"_ Ritsuko asked.

_"A bomb, like the one Asuka used yesterday,"_ Fred said. _"Unfortunately, just like yesterday, she's going to have to get the bomb inside the Angel's AT field, or it'll just make things worse."_

_"It'll make things worse?"_ Ritsuko repeated.

_"Trust me on that,"_ Fred said. _"You don't want Asuka using her glaive on this one. Its defenses are perfect for resisting that specific attack."_

_"That only makes sense if –"_ Ritsuko started.

_"Exactly,"_ Fred said. _"Better to take care of it this way, don't you agree?"_

_"Yes,"_ Ritsuko said. _"How can we be certain of hitting the core on the first shot?"_

_"I've already asked Maya to work on a targeting routine for the Magi that will make it easier to focus on the core,"_ Fred said. _"It'd be easier if you were translating your mother's notes for her, but Edgar's translating as much as he can without knowing everything you do. I hate to ask this, but do you think you could spend some time working with her on your mother's unique programming quirks?"_

_"I suppose,"_ Ritsuko groaned.

_"Trust me,"_ Fred said, _"I know the feeling. Anything to do with_ my _parents makes me want to throw up."_

When Ritsuko didn't respond, Fred turned his attention back to the spear he'd assembled for Asuka. It was twenty meters long, with a quick-detach mount for the head. The head itself was conical, like an armor piercing spike, with 10 milligrams of antimatter in its core, and a remote detonator that could be triggered by Asuka. It had been tempting to use an impact detonator, but he wasn't sure the explosion would work if it went off on the surface of the Angel's core. Better to drive it in and set it off only after it was embedded in the core.

He let out a heavy sigh and lifted off to enter Max's cockpit. "Well, that's as good as we're going to get in the time allowed. Thanks, gang. Hopefully we'll just have to do cleanup after the kids kill this one. Maya? How's the targeting routine coming?"

"Ritsuko just called me with ideas," Maya's voice replied over the intercom, "and it's going a lot faster now. We should have something ready by the time you get there."

"Perfect," Fred said. "I'll stop bothering you now, then." He flowed into the contact points in Max's cockpit and made connection, while the hatch closed and sealed, and Max picked up the spear. "OK, let's go."

 

"Unit 2, abort! Abort!" Maya yelled over the radio. "The core is - "

The antimatter charge in Asuka's spear made contact, and the Angel's body opened like a fleshy flower, then collapsed in a heap, while Unit 02's AT field flared up, shielding it, as well as anyone behind it, from the secondary effects of the explosion. The Angel's body pooled into two masses, which congealed like bad milk.

"- separating," Maya finished. "Unit 2, can you target either core with your progressive knife?"

Asuka reached up and took the progressive knife from Unit 02's shoulder piece, looked between the two pieces of Angel on the ground, shrugged, and stabbed downward into the one on her right. Her progressive knife hit the Angel, and the blade snapped off at the hilt.

"Sheisse!" Asuka swore. "Dieser verdammte Engel brach mir das Messer!"

"Don't bother," Fred said. "I'm reading a lot more energy than it was projecting before, like its AT field is reinforced until it's finished healing. And it _is_ healing. You blew off at least a quarter of its mass when you triggered the bomb, but it didn't die. Instead, it's hunkered down inside that AT field and is regenerating."

"My calculations suggest," Maya said, "that at the current rate of energy production, the Angel will be fully regenerated in six days. We're going to need a solution by then."

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to resort to this," Fred groaned. "Ritsuko, Asuka, Shinji, when we get back to NERV, we're going to have to go into training immediately."

"Wouldn't have to resort to what, exactly?" Ritsuko asked, her voice tight.

"Dance training," Fred said. "It's the only way to synchronize movements as tightly as we need in the time that's available. Don't worry. I won't be the one doing the training. I have one of our experts here for that. We'll need to use launch tracks without stops, though. Units 1 and 2 will need to be on the move right from the start."

"That won't be a problem," Ritsuko said. "You're sure you can have them ready by the time the Angel is moving again?"

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Fred sighed. "At least they didn't get tossed around and humiliated by the two halves. That would have been bad."

"No argument there," Ritsuko said. "We have enough trouble with the UN as it is. We don't need them deciding we're not effective against the Angels."

"Shinji, Asuka, I'll explain what we're going to do when we get home," Fred said. "What you need to know is that it won't be any more involved than dancing, except for the high stakes, that is. I know you can do it."

"Of course, Master!" Asuka chirped. "We won't let you down!"

"Dancing?" Shinji asked, his voice small.

"No worries," Fred said, then let loose with a laugh that was straight out of a bad mad scientist movie.

"Now _I'm_ worried," Maya said drily.

 

"Episode 9, Uncle Fred?" Cin groaned. "I'm not using Misato's method!"

"Of course not," Fred said. "I was thinking more like that show Jim likes so much. Dancing in the Stars, or whatever it is? Except mix in a little of Mike and Alex's Musabetsu Kakutō-Ryū so they have a chance of actually hurting it? Come to think of it, maybe we should start some proper martial training with them to supplement what little training NERV gives them."

"I was wondering when you'd realize that," Cin said, then grinned. "Don't worry, we'll have them ready in time. What music do you want them to work to?"

"This song," Fred said, transferring a copy to Cin's watch.

She tilted her head a moment as she listened, then grinned. "Perfect. It starts with enough for the two of them to get in sync, before the battle music kicks in. Good choice, Uncle Fred!"

 

"I'm getting really worried about Shinji," Toji said. For the first time in who knew how long, he was wearing his official school uniform, and was fidgeting as he watched the elevator count up the floors.

"He's been gone for three days, hasn't he?" Kensuke answered, also watching the numbers tick by while fidgeting with his school bag.

The elevator stopped, the doors slid open, and they stepped into the hallway, just in time to see Hikari stepping out of the elevator beside theirs.

"Hey," Toji said. "It's the class rep."

"Oh," Hikari said. "Two of the three stooges."

"So why are you here?" Toji asked.

"To see how Soryu's doing," Hikari said. "What about you?"

"To look in on Shinji," Kensuke said. "I hope Sensei doesn't have them out training."

The apartment door slid open, just a moment before Toji's finger hit the bell.

"He doesn't," Rei said. "They're in the living room training. Come on in."

"She creeps me out when she does that," Toji muttered, after Rei had turned her back and started down the hall toward the living room.

"Good to know something does," Hikari snickered.

In the living room, Cin was leading Shinji and Asuka through a slow, highly precise, kata. Shinji was holding the best replica of an MP-5 that Kensuke had ever seen, while Asuka was holding a glaive that was the perfect size for her height. The two of them were moving as if they had been practicing their kata nonstop for the last three days.

"Visitors, Master," Rei said, sinking to the floor beside Fred. She looked up at him with a teasing smile, then stage-whispered, "I creep out Toji. Can't imagine how."

Fred broke into laughter and nodded at Rei, then gestured to Miri. "I know Toji and Kensuke met her on the boat coming in, but I don't think you have, Horakichan. This is my first wife, Miriam Gröenshild MacManus. She came over with Max, Manfred, and Cinnamon."

Hikari bounced to her feet and bowed to Miri. "I'm very pleased to meet you, ma'am, and … wait, did he say you are his _first_ wife?"

"That's right," Miri said, while gesturing Hikari to sit beside her. "I'm Fred's first wife. Rei is our tenth. We're not just married to him, after all. We're married to each other."

Hikari gasped and stared at Miri, then at Fred, then at Rei, then back at Miri again. Her mouth opened, then closed.

“I have never seen the class representative speechless before,” Rei said, studying Hikari as if she were a new species.

“I don’t believe in concubines or mistresses,” Fred said, shrugging. “And since we’re all bonded to each other, then I give each one of them the full attention and devotion she deserves.”

“And it means that even on days I want to boot him in the head,” Miri said, “I can trust that he still has someone who doesn’t.”

“On … days …,” Hikari trailed off for a moment, then burst out, “I wouldn’t put up with it! I’d boot him in the head and walk out immediately!”

“Trust me,” Fred said dryly, “when it started happening, that’s what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice. Well, Miri has a choice...”

“And I choose to stay,” Miri said firmly. “You have to understand, Horaki, that all but two of the others, including Rei, are bound to Fred by a geas that he has no control over. And he is bound to them the same way. If they don’t get married, they die. Slowly and painfully.”

“Die?” Hikari repeated, then looked between Fred, Rei, and Miri. “What are you talking about?”

“We can talk about it while we watch Shinji and Asuka training.” Miri patted the seat beside her once again. “Rei isn’t with them because the two of them need to train as a team for their current mission. Once it’s over, she’ll be joining them.”

“As will anyone else who wants to,” Cin called across the room. “Run fu may be the best answer to Angels, but not all challenges are 80 meters tall.”

“I suppose that means I’ll have to keep the living room neat and organized,” Fred groaned, while he winked and gave Cin a thumbs up.

“The circumstances between myself, Master, and the other wives are due to the effects of a quantum transference field, which I intend to get direct readings of the first time I witness one being used,” Rei said. “From what Master and Miri have said, the field has effects in addition to its transference function, including establishing a resonating link between Master and the individual most suited to him in the universe he is transferred to – a resonating link which produces fatal feedback if the two involved do not form a permanent pair bond.”

Hikari blinked and stared at Rei for a moment, then asked, “Japanese, please?”

“It is as Miri said,” Rei said. “We are geased to each other. If we don’t marry, both of us die. Slowly and painfully.”

“All right!” Cin declared, with a clap of her hands. “That’s enough for today. Both of you relax while I find out what Uncle Fred has cooked for dinner.”

“Ug. I think I’ll just die now,” Shinji declared.

“Are you trying to poison us?” Asuka protested.

Neither of them were seriously protesting, since they liked Fred’s cooking, even when he made something that was neither Japanese nor German, but it gave them a focus for their complaints other than Cin’s training.

“Now we know that Cinnamon’s training hasn’t completely exhausted them,” Rei commented, while returning Fred’s smile. “Hikarichan, would you help me set the table?”

“I, uh, die? Really?” Hikari stammered, while getting to her feet and following Rei.

“Poor girl. I think I broke her brain.” Fred shook his head and got to his feet. “I’ll be right back with dinner.”

Fred vanished with the soft “pop” of a teleport.

“Huh. He didn’t go into the kitchen,” Shinji mused. “That’s a surrprise.”

“You’ll see when he gets back,” Rei said. “I would suggest washing up within the next five minutes if you don’t want to be late.”

 

“ _Ready, Yui?”_ Fred looked out the windows from the technical control center into the launch bay. _“If these readings are right...”_

“ _Israfel is about to reawaken,”_ Yui said. _“I’ve been following the readings all week.”_

Fred sighed and picked up the phone to Terminal Dogma. “Ritsuko, it’s time.”

“We had just reached the same conclusion,” Ritsuko said. “Call them in.”

“Roger that.” Fred hung up the phone, then turned to Shinji, Rei, and Asuka and nodded. “OK, time to suit up. Rei, pick whichever peak gives you the best firing line. Don’t take a shot unless either Shinji or Asuka are knocked out of the fight, though. Shinji, Asuka, you’ve been training for this all week. Now’s your chance to show everyone watching how fast you pick up new training. Ready?”

“Ready, Master!” Asuka chirped. When Fred nodded, she turned and ran for the locker room.

“I’m not sure I’m as enthusiastic as she is, but I’m ready, too,” Shinji said. Just before he left the room, he turned, looked back, and said, “If that’s what being a minion does to someone, I’m glad I’m not.”

Fred laughed, pulled a teddy bear out of his lab coat pocket, and tossed it in Shinji’s direction. “Go on, you!”

Shinji grinned and vanished through the door. The techs looked at each other, then at Fred.

“I’d heard Ikari was getting better,” one tech said, “but I hadn’t realized just how much better.”

“And not a single shriek or tantrum from Langley,” a second tech said. “It’s a miracle!”

“There may be after the mission,” Fred said. “Asuka’s going to be in Unit 02, after all. It’s not good for her sanity.”

“Not like Yui-san is for Shinji’s, huh?” another tech asked. “Well, crap. I hope these specialists you’re talking about get here soon.”

“So do I,” Fred said. “So do I.”

Out in the launch bay, Max handed Yui her submachine gun, then picked up a halberd with an antimatter warhead in its detachable blade and approached Unit 02.

“Dr. Zeppelin,” Max said, “I’d really appreciate it if you took this before Asuka got here. It would save time and make it a lot easier for her to be ready when it’s time to launch.”

Unit 02’s head turned to follow Max, and a creaky, unsteady voice asked over the launch bay’s intercom, “A… su… ka? Mein... kleines... Mädchen? Sie... ist... hier? “

“That’s right, Dr. Zeppelin,” Max said, as calmly as if he’d been expecting the Eva to answer him. “She’s here, and she needs her mother to help her defeat the Angels. Can you do it?”

“Shit,” Fred hissed under his breath. “Now is not the time for this.” _Cin! Dr. Zeppelin just woke up! Call home and tell your mom and Faern’ya we need them NOW! Tell Amelia she can time it if she has to, but we need your mom and Faern’ya now, if not sooner._

_Already calling, Uncle Fred. She woke up? Shit. Yeah, this is definitely an emergency._

“Hey, Dad!” A woman’s voice, with a flat, Midwestern accent, blared from the general comm speakers. “What’s the emergency? Cin told me I should time it to make sure I got here on time, and Ginger and Faern’ya are frazzled as all hell.”

“Stay clear of the combat, OK?” Fred answered. “And Amelia, thanks. As soon as we recover the Evas, Gin and Fae need to join me, so come down one of the tunnels they use for recovering the Evas when you land. Dr. Zeppelin just woke up.”

„Töte... die Engel? Ich werde! Wer ist das? Warum kenne ich seine Stimme? “  Unit 02’s voice became more firm as she continued speaking.

„Ich bin Doktor MacManus,“  Fred said. „Ich habe Doktor Akagi assistiert. Kannst du dich an sie erinnern?“

„Naoko? Sind Sie hier?“ Unit 02 turned its head, scanning the launch bay.

„Nicht Naoko,“ Ritsuko‘s voice joined the conversation. „Ritsuko. Es ist ein paar Jahre her, Doktor Zeppelin. Asuka ist alt genug, um jetzt zu fliegen. Die Engel sind hier. Wir brauchen dich, um Asuka zu helfen, sie zu bekämpfen. Kannst du es machen?“

“Would it be too much to ask that people speak Japanese?“ one of the techs muttered.

Fred chuckled and patted his shoulder. “I know the feeling. I get it every time people speak balding monkey around me.“

“Well, yeah,“ the tech shot back. “But you‘re a Mad Scientist. We expect that.“

_Fräulein Doktor Zeppelin, würden Sie bitte auf diesen Kanal wechseln und nicht laut sprechen? Asuka muss erst nach diesem Kampf wissen, dass du wach bist, oder die Ablenkung wird dem Engel erlauben, sie zu verletzen._

_Fräulein? Ich bin seit sehr langer Zeit nicht Fräulein. Aber ich werde das für meine Asuka machen._

_ How are you with English, Kyoko? Would you rather stick to German or Japanese? I have some friends who came  here just to meet you, and while they have translators for German and Japanese, they mostly speak English. And of course you already know we‘re at NERV headquarters, so everyone here speaks Japanese. _

_My English is a bit rusty. My Japanese is much better. I remember having to speak it every time I made a report to Naoko. Or Commander Ikari._

_Well, now Ritsuko has taken Naoko‘s place, Gendo‘s had a staffectomy, and we‘re about to fight an Angel that requires total coordination from Asuka and Shinji if we hope to defeat it._

_So that‘s why you said Asuka shouldn‘t know I‘m here until after. I understand._

_Hello, Dr. Zeppelin. My name is Ginger. I‘m one of the people who came here to meet you._

_And my name is Faern‘ya. I came here to meet you as well._

_Why? Why would complete strangers come to meet me?_

_It‘s for Asuka, Kyoko. Oh yes, call me Fred, unless you‘re being formal. Anyway, when I found out about the results of your contact experiment, I called them in. They‘re both specialists in this area. Now, I‘m going to leave the three of you to talk, while I get back to making sure the kids are ready to go._

Unit 02 took the halberd from Max and studied it, then rested the weapon against its side, with a hand holding it against falling.

“OK, given where Israfel is coming in from,“ Fred mused, “that means total time on the launch rails of… yeah, about that long. Edgar?“

“Already cued up,” Edgar announced. “One live recording, ready to go.”

_Master? Was that Amelia who just came in past me?_

_It was indeed. She has Cin’s mom and dad and Faern’ya with her._

_I didn’t expect her for another couple days._

_Kyoko woke up while Max was giving her the halberd._

_Oh. Does Asuka know?_

_No. And I convinced Kyoko that Asuka shouldn’t know until after the fight. At least, I hope I did._

“Time.” Maya announced. On the screens hanging from the ceiling, images of Israfel showed the two blobs on the beach shuddering, then taking bipedal form, then merging into a single figure and walking toward Tokyo-3.

“Shinji! Asuka! It’s time!”

On screens at workspace level, the two plugs were visible as they were inserted into the Evas. A countdown to contact with the defense line appeared.

“Synchronize it, Edgar,” Fred said.

The armor over the plugs locked into place and both Evas lit up as Shinji and Asuka synchronized with them. The music began playing over the speakers throughout the headquarters.

_**Oh mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law** _

The Evas tapped their feet in time with the drums.

_**Lawman has put an end to my running and I’m so far from my home** _

Unit 02 rapped the haft of the halberd against the footrest.

_**Oh mama, I can hear you a crying you’re so scared and all alone** _

Yui joined Unit 02, rapping the butt of the SMG against the back of the launch carriage.

_**Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don’t have very long** _

Both Evas roared in unison with the music as they were launched into the city. Even in the control room, the roaring echoed enough for the techs to cover their ears until the Evas were a good third of the way up the launch rails.

Up in the city, Shinji and Asuka attacked Israfel, moving with the music as if they were simply performing a complex dance that they were allowing the Angel to join them in. Their attacks forced it to separate, then recombine, then separate again, each forced split and recombination draining more energy from the Angel, on top of the energy it used in defending against their attacks and shooting eye lasers at the UN troops supporting them. Fred watched the readings of the Angel’s power as they dropped, and had just decided that one more cycle of split and recombine should do the trick, when Ritsuko’s voice came across the command channel.

“Now!” Ritsuko called. “Take the core on its next joining!”

Above ground, Israfel combined, its AT field so weak it was no longer able to stop bullets from Yui’s weapon. Both Evas dove on it in unison, the bullets chewing a passage through its uniform pinkish flesh for Asuka’s halberd to follow, embedding the head in the core. Asuka released the head and both Evas fell back as the warhead in it detonated, reducing the Angel to a spray of plasma.

"Brutto! Widerlich!“ Asuka complained. “I‘m going to be washing for HOURS to get that off my Eva!“

“Are you serious?“ Shinji asked. “Our AT fields stopped it. And it was plasma anyway. You don‘t wash plasma burns, you take a bath in LCL so they heal.“

“Never let reality get in the way of a good complaint!“ Asuka declared.

“I will have to remember that,“ Rei said. “It will be useful in the future, I believe.“

Fred fell into a chair, threw his head back and laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misato's out of rehab. The situation is a bit tense.

The Tokyo-3 public pool was almost empty. Everyone in the pilots’ class, except the pilots, had gone to Okinawa for a class trip. Rei and Miri were doing laps, Shinji was studying at a table on the deck, Cin was laying in a lounger, enjoying the sun, and Asuka, after some pouting, had taken her scuba gear to the deep end of the pool to practice diving.

“Shouldn’t you be enjoying the pool, too?” Misato asked from behind Shinji.

_Aunt Miri!_

Miri stopped where she was, tread water, and looked toward Cin and Shinji. Captain Katsuragi, dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, was standing behind Shinji, who was sitting upright, stiff enough she could sense his discomfort from across the pool. She felt Rei quietly leaving the water behind her, and Cin was sitting up, curling her legs under herself for a pounce.

_I see her. Let’s be ready, but not move unless she does something first._

“Uncle Fred would be disappointed if I let my physics grade slip because of a break,” Shinji said, his voice flat. “What are you doing here? The last I knew, you were in treatment.”

“I – “ Misato hesitated, and she shifted uncomfortably. “They released me into the Commander’s supervision. He instructed me to come to the pool to, ‘get to know the pilots informally’.”

“Well, you’ve come,” Shinji said, turning and glaring at Misato. “Now you can go.”

Misato stepped back as if he’d punched her. Anger flashed across her face for a moment, then she slumped and turned toward the women’s locker room.

“Wait,” Rei said. She walked between Misato and the locker room, and stood, studying her. “You no longer carry the aspect of someone under the influence of mind-altering substances. Perhaps it is safe to allow you an opportunity to introduce your sober self to us.”

“My… sober self.” Misato gave Rei a worried look, then sighed. “That’s right. You were there. How can you stand being near me? I don’t even like remembering it.”

“Perhaps you should go sit by Cinnamon – “ Rei started.

“You look like Ginger!” Misato blurted out, cutting off whatever Rei had been saying. “Are you…?”

“Yes,” Cin hissed, then stalked to Shinji’s side, visibly bristling, and rested a hand on his shoulder. Shinji reached up and covered her hand with his own, while keeping his glare fixed on Misato. “I am Cinnamon. And I won’t let you hurt Shinji again.”

“It’s OK, Cin,” Shinji said softly, while squeezing her hand. “She can’t. Not any more.”

“I’m afraid you’ve made quite an impression,” Miri said as she joined Rei. “It’s going to take some doing to change it. So, are you willing to make the attempt, or will you just leave all of them remembering you as you were when my husband arrived?”

“When your husband arrived?” Misato gave Miri a confused look.

“Yes,” Miri said. “Fred MacManus – Raven – is my husband.”

“But,” Misato protested, looking at Rei. “You said he was yours! You stood up to the Commander for him!”

“So you do remember,” Rei said. “That is good. I was not certain how many of your memories were negatively affected by the alcohol. Yes, he is mine as well. As is Miri.” She smiled secretively and touched Miri’s arm.

“Not the ones I wish were,” Misato grumbled. “If Ginger weren’t here – “

“Misato!” Asuka called. She bounded across the deck with a happy cry. “Master said you were in the hospital, but he wouldn’t say why. And no one would let me visit you! You look OK, though. Are you feeling better?”

“I feel like I’ve stepped through a looking glass,” Misato said softly, then stared at Asuka. “Did you say Master?”

“That’s right!” Asuka declared proudly. “I am Master’s Number One Minion!”

“Number… One… Minion…,” Misato looked around, as if anyone else could enlighten her.

“As you know,” Rei explained, “Asuka-chan is German. Germans have a certain.. bent toward Mad Scientists. In her case, since he established their relationship immediately upon meeting her, Asuka has made herself Fred’s Minion.”

“...” Misato stared at Rei, as if her explanation didn’t help in the slightest. “And… what does a minion do?”

“Everything Ibuki-san does for Akagi-san,” Rei said, then smiled secretively and added, “Well, almost. Asuka is not one of us wives. She is unique, and knows that she is setting the standard by which any future Minions he has will be judged.”

As Rei spoke, Asuka went from briefly disappointed to visibly preening.

“It’s true!” Asuka declared. “Master has told me himself that I am setting the standard for any Minions he takes in the future! Me! And there is so much he has to teach, too! Why, just his knowledge of high-energy physics exceeds even mine, and that’s not getting into his knowledge of robotics and mecha engineering and cybernetics, and I could study at his feet for the rest of my life!”

“You are… not quite what your file led me to believe,” Misato said softly. “I just, I just don’t know any more. It was so much easier when I could drown it all.”

_You see, Cin? She’s no more a menace than Asuka was. She’s just sad and broken, and it sounds as if her time with your mother has begun putting her back together._

_I know._ Cin huffed and her hair slowly lay back down. _I know. It’s just, she hurt Shinji!_

_And you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t want to protect him, I know. But you saw how well he stood up to her just now. You’ve been good for him._

Shinji gave Misato a thoughtful look, then sighed and pointed at a chair near the table. “Why don’t you sit down and tell us about it? It’s been a couple months since Asuka arrived, so it’s not as if we haven’t had time to get to know each other. But a sober Misato is a stranger to all of us. Maybe you should introduce yourself.”

“I can’t believe it’s been so long,” Misato murmured as she took the chair Shinji had pointed at. “You really want – I mean, you haven’t written me off completely?”

“If Father said he wanted you to get to know us informally,” Shinji said, “then he thinks you’re ready to start working in the field again. That means you’re going to have to know us, and we’re going to have to know you, or any operation we work together on will be a failure.” He tapped on his laptop. “Just a moment… Mom? I need you and Dr. Zeppelin to join us on this channel.”

“We’re here,” Yui said. “What is it?”

“What is it, Shinji-kun? Is Asuka OK?” Kyoko asked.

“I’m all right, Mutti,” Asuka said. “I think Shinji wants you to talk with Captain Katsuragi.”

“WHAT?” Yui exclaimed. A moment later, she continued, distracted. “No, Jet honey, I’m not mad at you. I just got surprised by something else, that’s all. You’ve been a good boy and I’m so proud of you, I promise.”

“Jet?” Misato asked, looking confused.

“Jet Alone,” Shinji said. “Mom adopted him after Uncle Fred and Ritsuko-san rescued him from Japan Heavy Chemical Industries. He’s a mecha with an AI that they deliberately blocked from developing emotionally beyond the equivalent of a four-year-old. Mom has been his Mama Yui while Ritsuko and Fred work on editing his code to remove the blocks so he can develop normally.”

“But it’s an AI!” Misato protested.

“In a body as big as Mom’s, yes.” Shinji shrugged. “I like him. He’s a good kid.”

“But it’s an AI!” Misato protested. “Even the Magi have controls on them, and they don’t have robot bodies!”

“Have you ever thought that it’s our mistrust and fear of them that might be the problem?” Shinji asked. “I’ve read Frankenstein. Adam would have never turned against humanity if he’d been accepted as a person, instead of being feared and hated because of his appearance. Jet Alone was terrified because no one ever told him that as a mecha he was immune to his own radiation. And the reactor they gave him had such poor shielding he was surrounded by a radiation field that would kill a human. Uncle Fred saved him, and Mom adopted him. He’s going to be OK.”

“Uncle Fred.” Misato repeated, leaned forward, rested her elbows on the table, and put her face in her hands. “I thought he hated me. I know I hated him. I wanted him to be the reason for everything that was going wrong, for the way you looked at me like I was a monster, for the way Rei barely tolerated me, for the way my own soldiers whispered about me behind my back. I wanted it all to be his fault. But Ginger made me see that even though he despised me, he was trying to save me.”

“He worried that he had gone too far, or had taken the wrong approach,” Rei said. “He was afraid that instead of your memories and your drinking, his approach had deflected you to focusing on him as your problem.”

“I did,” Misato said, looking up from her hands. “I think Doctor Mitsuishi despaired of ever getting me away from him and onto why I was drinking. And she never had a chance of...” She went silent and looked around the pool suspiciously.

Rei glanced at Miri.  _Perhaps the bugs need to hear something appropriate._

_I have just the thing._

“It’s safe to talk,” Miri said. “The bugs are hearing Megumi Hayashibara. It seems appropriate for a public pool.”

“You know about the bugs.” Misato gave Miri a surprised look.

“Oh yes,” Miri said. “we routinely feed the bugs distractions. Fred’s rather fond of music from Britain, Canada, and other universes. I usually play back one of my classroom lectures.”

“They must have been really confused by that one about doing an autopsy on an Avir,” Cin giggled. “I remember seeing techs replacing every bug in the building after that one.”

“Do not worry,” Rei said. “When Ritsuko told Fred about you being raised by SEELE after Second Impact, he assumed they had implanted your mind with programming.”

“And Mom is really good at digging out brainwashing,” Cin said proudly. “Almost as good as she is at shredding nightmares.”

“And I get the feeling you mean that literally,” Misato murmured. She took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “It would certainly explain my dreams since I met her.”

“Oh yeah,” Cin said, with a proud grin. “Nightmares are one of her specialties. Well, all of us, but Mom’s especially good. I’m pretty sure the only one who’s better is Morphie, but he’s too young for a trip like this.”

“Morphie?” Misato asked. “Like the Greek god of dreams? Morpheus”

“That’s him,” Cin said. “Morphie’s one of the catdragon litter. Everyone calls him Morphie because he spends almost as much of his time in the Dreamlands as Q and his family do, and they’re _from_ the Dreamlands.”

“Dreamlands?” Misato asked. “You say that like it’s a real place.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cin said. “If Mom’s shredding your nightmares, you don’t have to worry.”

“I see him, you know,” Misato said. “Every time I close my eyes, I see that monster at the South Pole, and then the explosion, and my father putting me in the escape pod, and then it’s all dark and moving and....”

“Hey, hey,” Cin crouched beside Misato’s chair. “That was fifteen years ago, right? And you’ve been telling Mom about it, right? And she’s been in your dreams, fighting them, right? You’ll make it. And you won’t need beer to make you black out and not see it any more.”

“If only it were that easy,” Misato mumbled. “The blackness from drinking hurts a lot less than the darkness from the past.”

“If she can help me be good for my daughter,” Kyoko said, “she can help you. I have faith in Fräulein Ginger.”

“Fräulein?” Cin giggled. “Oh, I have got to tell Mom that! And Dad, too! They’ll get such a kick out of it.”

“Herr Red is your father, yes?” Kyoko asked. “A good man, if a bit too anxious for your mother’s safety.”

“He always has been,” Cin agreed. “He’s a lot better when he has children to herd...uh, I mean, babysit.”

“No, I think you got it right the first time,” Misato snorted. “He reminds me of a border collie, the way he’s constantly trying to organize things. Herding is the perfect word for it.”

“Subtract border from that,” Cin laughed, “and you’re dead on. I’m satisfied. How about the rest of you?”

“Has the Commander cleared you for duty?” Rei asked.

“I… I think it depends on your reactions,” Misato said.

“I’m satisfied,” Rei said. “I trust Cinnamon’s instincts.”

Misato stared at Rei for a moment, then whispered, “You… you spoke informally. And just said you trust someone other than the Commander. What happened while I was a patient?”

“Quite a lot,” Shinji said. “We’ve destroyed five Angels, and haven’t had an attack since the eleventh. Father and Fuyutsuki-sensei are on a trip they wouldn’t talk about. Uncle Fred and Ritsuko-san said that we shouldn’t worry, because it’ll give us another weapon we can use.”

Misato opened her mouth to speak, then let out a frustrated growl and muttered, “Damn it! I’m not a SEELE spy!”

“Just a moment,” Rei said. “It seems we don’t need that security any more.”

_Master? Would you come to me for a minute? We no longer have to worry about Captain Katsuragi spilling her guts._

_Captain Katsuragi?_

With a soft pop, Fred appeared, his left hand formed into a laser welder. Misato squeaked, leaped out of her chair, and scrambled behind Rei, putting Rei between her and Fred. Fred sighed and held up his hands, the left one shifting back into the shape of a normal hand.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Fred said. “Rei called and asked if I’d come.” He smiled at Rei. “So what’s up, hon?”

“I believe that Captain Katsuragi deserves a second chance,” Rei said. “Ginger has done a good job with her, and she appears to be attempting to be sober.”

“I don’t know what she did,” Misato grumbled, “but beer tastes so awful now that I can’t even drink it to kill the memories.”

“How long has it been since you tried?” Fred asked.

“I, uh, got someone to sneak a can in a week ago,” Misato said, giving Fred a look that was a mixture of anger and misery. “Why are you doing this to me? Isn’t it enough that I took one sip and it tasted so bad I wanted to throw up?”

_Ginger? Are you hearing this?_

_It’s all her doing, not mine. I’m betting that it’s her way of dealing with the guilt of what she did while drunk._

_Guilt, huh?_

_She’s practically swimming in it. Anything more is between her and me._

_No worries. The important thing is that she’s not drunk any more, and the kids aren’t ready to wring her neck. I guess I can give her a second chance._

_I’d recommend it. She needs it as much as Kyoko did._

_Gotcha. Thanks, Gin._

Fred held up his hands and said gently, “No more, Misato. Rei says we don’t have to worry about you spilling your guts to SEELE, and that’s all I was trying to prevent.”

“What about the Spear?” Misato demanded angrily. “Don’t you think they’re going to have to know?”

“Gendo and Fuyutsuki need to get it, first,” Fred said. “They insisted I stay here to make sure Yui and Kyoko are ready in case of an attack. Ritsuko and I manage things when they aren’t around. It’d be a lot easier if you could get the respect of your soldiers, so they don’t want to frag you.”

Misato blinked, then blinked again, then stared at Fred. “Just like that? You get rid of the block I’ve had since April, and tell me it’d be easier around NERV if my soldiers didn’t want to frag me?”

“You’re sober,” Fred said, shrugging. “I assumed your behavioral problems were exclusively due to the alcohol. I was wrong. Ginger tells me you’re ready to come back, and quite frankly, I’m a lot happier managing technical stuff than soldiers. If you think you’re ready to come back, too, and you realize that my first priority is Rei and Shinji and Asuka, and since fighting the Angels is necessary for that, I’ll use my skills and abilities to support anything that doesn’t endanger their health or sanity any more than piloting giant robots endangers anyone, we should be able to work together. I don’t know you well enough to know if we’ll be able to get along, but as long as we don’t endanger my kids by fighting, it’s a start, don’t you agree?”

Misato opened her mouth, then closed it, then looked around at the others. Shinji was carefully not saying anything while he studied Misato as if afraid she’d do something untoward. Rei looked back with her usual inscrutable smile. Cinnamon smiled and nodded at her.

“It’ll be just like Germany!” Asuka chirped happily.

“Cinnamon? Did you do something to Fred?” Miri asked, giving Fred a confused look. “He sounded reasonable.”

“It’s amazing what not being able to avoid responsibility does, isn’t it?” Cin answered.

“Hey!” Fred laughed. “Avoiding responsibility is why I became Prince!’

“Became…,” Misato started, then shook her head. “I don’t want to know.”

“I’m Shinji’s age, and I still had to take care of everyone in the apartment,” Cin humphed. “Even the damned breakfast-stealing penguin needed my help.”

“Not as much once I installed a translator in his pack,” Fred snorted. “Now he can complain about the quality of our fish supply to everyone in the house, not just me and Rei.”

“And he does,” Shinji groaned. “And the beer, too. At least he doesn’t – err, I mean, uh, never mind.”

“I’m sorry, Shinji,” Misato said. “I remember the things I said. I was wrong. You didn’t need that.”

Shinji stared at Misato for a moment, clearly gobsmacked, then took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you. When do you think you’ll be starting again?”

“My orders say that if all of you decide you’re willing to work with me,” Misato said, “then I start the next day.”

“All that leaves is showing your troops that you’re someone they want to follow, not frag,” Fred said. “If you’re able to convince them as well as you’ve convinced the kids, that shouldn’t be a problem. Welcome back. Stop by the apartment around seven. Cin and Miri’s class will be over by then, and dinner should be about ready.”

“Dinner?” Misato asked. “You’re inviting me to dinner?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re tired of hospital food,” Fred said. “And in my experience, a meal is the best way to get people to relax and be themselves. Well, other than bad movies or gaming together.”

“Master’s a wicked gamer,” Asuka declared, “and he has games I’ve never seen before.”

“Widget’s a great writer,” Fred said, grinning. “Even Miri likes her games.”

“I do,” Miri said. “Widget is as good at writing games as Cal is at writing security software.”

“And as good as you are at flying,” Fred said. “You’re better than I am, you know.”

“You didn’t start with an old-fashioned fighter, the way I did,” Miri said. “You’ve always had Max to fill in the gaps.”

“Don’t I know it,” Fred agreed. “When I had to fly a fighter without a soul, it was like wrestling iron bars. I envy you your ability to make them dance.”

“When you had to fly a fighter without a soul?” Misato asked, looking between Fred and Miri, confused.

“Oh, you’ll meet Max and Manfred tonight,” Fred said. “They park on the roof of my building when we’re not plugged into them.”

“But, I thought it took an Eva to have a soul,” Misato protested weakly. Cin gently squeezed Shinji’s shoulder, then moved to take Misato’s arm and lead her back to her chair.

“The way NERV builds them, yes,” Fred said. “My designs are a little different. I’m starting to suspect the Magi have souls, too, although if they do, they’re fragmented.”

“Have you had Aunt Faern’ya look?” Cin asked.

“She hasn’t been given clearance to go into the command center,” Fred snorted. “They trusted her to help Kyoko reassemble herself, but won’t let her into a much less sensitive area. Go figure.”

“It’s probably bureaucracy,” Misato grumbled. “Sometimes I think we could have Third Impact today, and the bureaucrats would demand the appropriate forms be filled out, in quintuplicate original, before allowing the world to end.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Shinji said, “But I like the new you a whole lot better than the old you.”

Cin grinned at Shinji, then gave Fred a conspiratorial look. “I could get her in through the air ducts. She’s tiny enough.”

“Please don’t,” Misato groaned. “or at least don’t plot doing it where I can hear it. If I’m going back to work, I’m responsible for security as well as deployment against possible Angels.”

“OK!” Cin agreed. _We won’t plot where she can hear it, will we?_

_Nope. You know Faern’ya has plenty of experience in tight passages, right?_

_Well, sure! But it sounds like fun!_

_You sound way too bored. Now that everyone’s relatively sane, you just don’t have enough to keep you busy, do you?_

_Especially not with most of our martial arts students in Okinawa._

_What about your rat-hunting expeditions?_

_Still trying to find the last six. They could teach Aarin a few things about paranoia._

_That good, huh? Sounds like the kind of challenge you enjoy._

_It is, but there’s a lot of waiting involved. And I can only take so many naps._

_Have you been consulting with Diana?_

_The timeshift makes it a lot harder than you make it seem. How do you do it?_

_Oh, I just create a bubble of no-time around myself when I’m on the phone, so it doesn’t matter what the slippage is._

_That must give you one hell of a headache._

_Don’t tell Miri. She’d worry._

_And she should, too! I’ve seen your migraines._

_That’s why I don’t tell her. It’s not paradox, not really, so it’s not that bad._

_Uh-huh._

“So,” Fred said, “there’s no need to dress up. Well, other than not wearing a hospital gown. Then again, I think my friend Mike is the only one who uses gowns that don’t make a person feel like they’re worse than a fig leaf.”

“Hospital gown?” Misato asked, then made a face. “I haven’t worn one of those since I finished detoxing. That was before Ginger showed up.”

“Good,” Fred said. “Jeans are just fine.”

“What he means,” Shinji said, “is that you should wear something you’d feel comfortable leaving the house in, but we don’t dress up for dinner.”

“Well, except that one time when Kyoko arrived, but that was something to thank the admiral and his crew,” Fred said. “And that was only casual dress.”

“That was casual dress?” Shinji asked, giving Fred a look of disbelief. “If that was casual dress, what do they consider formal?”

“This,” Fred said, and shifted to a Navy formal dinner dress uniform. “I insisted on the dinner being casual dress because no one can relax and be comfortable in this.”

“Ug. It just _looks_ uncomfortable,” Shinji said, shaking his head.

“Maybe, but...” Misato started, then blushed and coughed. “So, seven o’clock?”

_It appears she has succumbed to how well you clean up, Master._

_I’m certain she has. He does clean up nice, doesn’t he? And you should see him in a kilt. Even our lesbian friends think he looks good in a kilt._

_I think I will want to see that._

_Great. The two of you are plotting behind my back._

_No we aren’t. We’re plotting where you can hear us._

_Details!_

_Hmm. I wonder where I can get a leaf blower._

_Miri!_

Fred, Miri, and Rei broke into laughter. Misato stared at Rei as if she had turned into some kind of oni.

“Great. they’re talking among themselves,” Shinji grumbled and rolled his eyes.

Cin giggled and gave Shinji a sympathetic smile.

“Talking among themselves?” Misato asked. “But they didn’t say anything.”

“They’re married,” Shinji said, shrugging. “Apparently for them that means some kind of telepathic link. Of course, Uncle Fred can speak telepathically to anyone he wants to, but the three of them seem to do it more than they talk out loud.”

“Guilty,” Miri said. _It’s a lot less uncomfortable than speaking where everyone can hear._

_We know, sweetheart. And we love you for who you are._

_Master is right. You would not be who I love if you were not you._

“Well, I’m glad you’re coming back,” Asuka declared. “Master and Ritsuko have been filling in while you were gone, but it’s obvious they’d rather be turning wrenches or writing code. Now they can go back to doing what they enjoy, and you can take care of operations the way it should be taken care of.”

Fred smiled and nodded at Asuka, who looked as if she were going to burst with happiness at his approval. Misato frowned as she looked between them, then beckoned Asuka closer.

“Asuka?” Misato asked, softly enough it was clear she was trying to keep anyone but Asuka from hearing her, “Are you and Fred… are you more than just his minion? Has he been….”

Asuka looked at Misato with a confused expression for a moment, then let out a loud humph  before complaining loudly, “No! Master won’t!  He says it would be wrong! He says I’m too young, and he’s too old and jaded for me!  Er sagt, es ist falsch für einen Meister, seinen Diener zu ficken!“ 

Asuka finished with a growl of frustration and a glare in Fred‘s direction. Misato sat back, giving Asuka a surprised look.

_Oh dear. You‘re gonna have to do something about that, Uncle Fred._

_Ug. I know. Damn it. I thought I‘d deflected her enough by making her my minion._

_Obviously she‘s not satisfied. I‘ll see what I can do, but there‘s a difference between understanding because I‘m her age, and having enough experience to give you and her both some better advice. You should talk to Mom._

_I think you‘re right._

„ Asuka, mein Schatz,“ Kyoko broke in, „er hat Recht. Ein guter Meister nutzt seinen Günstling nicht aus, um sie zu zwingen, Sex mit ihm zu haben.“

„Aber es zwingt nicht,“ Asuka shot back, „wenn ich es will!“

„Süße,“ Kyoko said gently, „es gibt mehr als nur körperlichen Verkehr, Liebe zu machen. Aber das ist keine Diskussion für ein öffentliches Schwimmbad. Komm mit mir unter vier Augen und ich kann dir mehr persönliche Dinge mitteilen, okay?“

_Thank you, Kyoko. It was getting really uncomfortable._

_For everyone, I‘m sure._

Asuka subsided with a sour grumble, started to stomp off toward the locker room, then glanced back at Fred and walked the rest of the way with her head high.

“OK, who is she, and what have you done with the real Asuka?” Misato asked. “The Asuka I know would have thrown a screaming tantrum for the next hour.”

“I spanked her,” Fred said, blushing. “It, uh, had unforseen results.”

“You spanked her,” Misato repeated. “You. Spanked. Asuka.” She looked at Miri and asked, ”Is he always this careless?”

“Yes? No? Uh, leave me out of it,” Miri stammered, blushing as deeply as Fred had. “Max? Is there a crime scene somewhere we can go investigate?”

Misato gave Miri a confused look, while Fred snickered.

“Not always,” Fred said. “But there are some things that make me react without considering the consequences. Drunks are one. People who abuse others are another. Asuka had spent the entire trip here abusing the hospitality of the Admiral and his men, and attempted to do the same with Shinji when we arrived to collect her and Kyoko. I lost my temper, just like I did with you.”

“Well,” Misato mused, “at least you only spanked her. But I don’t envy you the consequences.”

“Gee, thanks,” Fred drawled. He paused, then grinned at Misato, while extending his hand. “On the other hand, you just confirmed that you’ve got the good sense and caring Gendo told me you had the potential for, way back when we met. I didn’t believe it then, but I’m seeing it now.”

Misato looked at Fred’s hand as if she expected it to turn into a snake and bite her, then hesitantly took it.

Fred gripped her hand firmly and shook it. “Do you need anything to get you settled in back at your apartment? I’m afraid no one knew how you wanted your stuff distributed, so it’s still full of boxes. Sorry about that.”

“Food,” Shinji said. “No one can live exclusively on instant noodles. Not and maintain their health, at least.”

“Student food,” Miri said gravely. “Everyone in school kept packs of instant noodles and a hot pot in their dorm room.” She looked at Misato and added, “For when the dining hall was closed.”

“And I happen to know that, as institutional food goes, NERV has a pretty good dining hall,” Fred said. “Good enough I’ll trust their food before I trust the school’s.” He shook his head, smirking slightly. “I swear, mystery meat is a universal in every universe that has schools like here.”

“You forget her sense of direction,” Rei pointed out. “It may be that Misato hasn’t found the cafeteria yet.”

“That’s not my sense of direction,” Misato grumbled. “Well, mostly. I just haven’t had a chance to find everything yet.”

“Haven’t had a chance?” Fred asked. “What do you mean? How long have you been here?”

“Uh…,” Misato looked into the distance for a moment. “I got here the day before Sachiel attacked.”

“You what?” Shinji blurted. “You only got here a day before I did?”

“Uh-huh,” Misato said, nodding.

“You realize,” Fred said, “that means you made a really strong impression on your troops, for them to want to frag you after less than a month. I’ve only seen reactions that strong with newly-minted lieutenants in war zones.”

“Don’t let how peaceful it is today fool you,” Misato said. “This is a war zone.”

‘We know,” Fred said. “That’s why I encourage the kids to blow off steam any way they can, when they can. Keep the stress bottled up and bad things happen. I’ve seen it on too many worlds to think it’s coincidence.”

“It’s not,” Cin said. “It’s the way every sapient mind we’ve encountered works. If you don’t find a way to release the stress, all the management techniques in the world will only delay the inevitable, they won’t prevent it.”

“Every sapient mind,” Misato repeated. “You’re not joking. You’ve met aliens that aren’t hostile?”

“Lots,” Fred said. “I only have one wife out of ten who’s human. And she’s a shikabane hime.”

Misato looked at Fred as she mouthed the words, then shook her head and pointed at Miri. “Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me she’s not human?”

“I’m not an alien, but I’m not human,” Miri said.

“Now who’s crazy?” Misato grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Fred snickered and shifted, growing another three feet, plus a foot for his ears, claws on his hands and feet, a long canine muzzle, and shaggy red, black, and white fur. While Misato stared at Fred, Miri shrank until she was a mere two feet tall while standing on all four feet, with black fur, a long pointed muzzle, long pointed ears, and a long bushy tail. Once she’d shifted, she curled up on Fred’s feet, her tongue hanging out as she panted in the heat.

“ _You were asking?”_ Fred’s thought came as clearly as if he’d said it aloud.

“Yes, well, you claimed to be a god,” Misato snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised at any shape you take. Not any more.”

“You did it to yourself,” Cin snickered. “Miri, on the other hand, looks very cute in her jackal form.”

“She does,” Rei agreed, and crouched to gently rest a hand on Miri’s shoulders.

Misato’s eyes narrowed and she bent down to peer at Miri. “Miri. Right. She turned into a… some kind of dog? I think? You really want me to believe that?”

“ _Eh, you can believe it or not, but it won’t change that she is cynocephalos,”_ Fred’s thought was almost laughter.

“What is kynokefalos?” Misato asked, giving Fred a sour look.

“Me,” Miri answered, her voice coming from the band around her right foreleg.

Fred broke into laughter, the sound starting as a series of barks from his canine muzzle, that changed into human laughter as he shifted back to his usual appearance. Miri shifted, trying to get a more comfortable position, as Fred’s feet changed under her, from bare paws to booted human feet.

“Sorry, love,” Fred said, then crouched to pet Miri. He looked up at Misato, whose mouth was open without any words coming out. He glanced at Cin, who sighed and nodded, then moved to take Misato’s shoulder.

“Come on, Misato. I’ve called Mom. She can help explain all this.” She sighed and shook her head, then added, “We’re from a world where the supernatural is a normal part of daily life. Uncle Fred clearly didn’t consider that, until the Angels, your world is as mundane as ours was when my grandmother was a girl.”

“That’s normal?” Misato finally managed to blurt out. “That’s normal? No wonder none of you seem to take the Angels seriously!”

“Oh no,” Cin said, shaking her head. “We take them seriously. We just know, from experience, in some cases, that letting yourself get all stressed out by your enemies only gives them another weapon against you.”

Shinji covered his mouth with a hand, and the sounds of strangled snickers came from his vicinity, while Fred and Asuka and Rei intoned “owwwww” as if it were some kind of mantra.

Misato threw a glare Shinji’s way, then sighed. “You’ve had all summer to get used to this. Give me some time, OK?”

“Go take care of your troops,” Fred said gently. “And don’t forget, dinner at seven, my place. If you need someone to pick you up, one of us will come by your place around six thirty.”

“That … actually sounds like a good idea,” Misato said. She gave Cin a grateful look. “I should see what shape my apartment’s in, and – oh shit! Pen-Pen!”

“He’s fine,” Fred said. “It was talking to him that helped me realize you could be a good person. He’s a nice guy.”

“Sarcastic, grumpy, bored, but a nice guy,” Cin agreed.

“Bored?” Misato asked.

“Well, yeah,” Cin said. “The newspaper and daytime talk shows just aren’t enough to keep his interest for long. He needs something more to do. We just haven’t figured out what he can get away with, and your internet on this planet sucks.”

“Our internet sucks,” Misato repeated. “Civilians aren’t even supposed to have access to it.”

“See, that’s the problem,” Fred said. “Once civilians got involved, the internet back home took off until you can do almost anything with it, even play games. There’s so much bandwidth available, the military uses less than one percent. Well, outside of autocratic countries like the United States. People watch holos, listen to music, play games, search libraries, collaborate on everything from art to mecha design, all over the internet.”

“Order groceries,” Miri put in. “Speaking of which, do you have everything you’ll need for dinner?”

“No problem,” Fred answered. “I already figured that in when I made the invitation. I hope you don’t mind meat. I have a good, affordable supplier.”

“For Uncle Fred’s definition of affordable,” Cin snickered.

“What do you mean?” Misato asked, shaking her head as the conversation sharply turned again.

“Aunt Ari said,” Cin said, “that when he showed up on her world, he bought a house near the Academy and paid for it with gems he just dug out of his pocket.”

“Well, it was easier than looking for someone who could buy the gems for the local currency,” Fred said, shrugging.

“And,” Cin continued as if Fred hadn’t said anything, “she said he paid over ten times the value of the house. And was worried he’d underpaid.”

“Well, the owner needed enough to be able to move to another neighborhood,” Fred said. “For some reason, people don’t like living near a graveyard, no matter how nice a place it is.”

“Wait,” Misato said. “Academy? Graveyard? What?”

“Oh!’ Fred said. “Well, the city had an academy they ran for training its guard. They apparently got a really good deal on land, because they set it up right next to the graveyard, which was the size of… you know how big Fushimi Inari was before Second Impact? That’s how big the graveyard was. So finding a nice house that was adjacent to both was easy.”

“And you wanted to live next to both because?” Misato asked.

“Aribeth,” Miri said. “She was one of the highest ranking officers in the city, and the only way he would be able to get close to her was if he went through the Academy.”

“And because I’m Raven,” Fred said. “In Japan, I’m a friend of Amaterasu. In most other places, I help the dead get to where they belong. Well, when I’m not tricking people into doing what’s good for them.”

“One hell of a trick,” Misato grumbled. “Doctor Mitsuishi said you must have pulled your punch, or you would have ruptured most of my internal organs. And you still managed to punch me twenty-five feet, through a bulletproof window.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Fred said, blushing. “I could have hit you with ultrasonics instead, but I was already pissed because of not being able to kill Gendo, so when you pulled your gun, I kind of lost my temper.”

“Kind of… lost your…,” Misato started, then shook her head. “Remind me to not be around when you _really_ lose your temper.” She rubbed her forehead. “I think that I should go home and see how much of a mess I have to clean up. The soldiers can wait until tomorrow. It’s going to take more than one day for them to lose their hatred of me anyway.”

“I’ll work with you on that,” Fred said. “The good ones and I get along fairly well, so if they see the two of us working together, they’re going to realize something’s changed, especially since we spent a good hour exchanging our opinions of you while they were driving me to NERV the day we met.”

“Wonderful.” Misato rubbed her face and sighed, then stood and started for the locker room. “You said six thirty?”

“Yup. See you then.” Fred waved cheerfully at Misato’s back.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misato joins Fred and his friends for dinner. It's not quite through the Looking Glass, but it might as well be for her.

The apartment door slid back just as Misato was reaching for the bell. Rei gave her an inscrutable smile and stepped back, indicating the getabako and waiting slippers.

“Cin and Miri’s class is just finishing up,” Rei said as she walked toward the living room. “Ginger and Red are here, as are Faern’ya and the Jensens.”

“The Jensens?” Misato asked, while slipping out of her shoes. “Who are the Jensens?”

“That would be my wives and I,” a woman said in Imperial-accented Japanese, her voice almost musical. She was slightly taller than Rei, with pointed ears and a slight, almost ethereal figure. She had forest green eyes and blonde hair with just a hint of red. “Hello. I’m Artisha. The tall elf over there with a book in her hand is Maeru, and the blonde human with the skin-tight t-shirt, who’s setting the table, is Sally.”

“Your wives,” Misato repeated. She groaned, then asked, “Are you like MacManus-san?”

“Like Fred?” Artisha asked, frowning thoughtfully. “Oh! You mean having multiple wives? I suppose. A lot of us are back home. Multiple wives, or husbands, or both, is so common that no one notices unless someone comments on it.”

Sally looked up and waved, while undressing Misato with her eyes then turning away as if she weren’t interested, leaving Misato feeling somehow rejected. A shadow she hadn’t noticed before rippled, and a girl – no, a woman, maybe 130cm tall, with pointed ears and skin so black that only her white hair and amethyst eyes made her visible, stepped out of it.

“Don’t mind Sally,” the black woman said. Her voice sounded like liquid seduction, making Misato’s breathing catch. “She’s changed since she married Tish. She still appreciates a nice body, but she doesn’t chase people the way she used to. I think Maeru appreciates it.”

“Let’s just say the curse isn’t entirely bad,” Artisha said, chuckling. “You should probably dial it back some, Fae. You’re radiating like my father does when he’s using one of his male forms.”

“I don’t know,” the black woman chuckled. “Fennie’s pretty tempting, too.”

“If you think he looks good as Fennie, you should see him in his favorite humanoid form,” Artisha snorted. “Add a few centuries of maturity to Fennie’s attractiveness.”

“Mmm.” The black woman’s tongue flicked out and she licked her lips. For some reason, the fact that it was somewhat purplish impressed itself on Misato’s mind.

“You, Faern’ya, need a regular girlfriend,” Artisha declared, leaning past Misato to poke the black woman in the chest. “Or better yet, you need a wife.”

“ _A?_ ” the black woman shot back. “ _A_ wife? Tish, love, I’m _drow_. You know that means I need a full harem of my own. Preferably all wearing nice, artistically designed collars that mark them as mine.”

Misato swallowed and glanced around worriedly, until Rei was suddenly there, an arm around Misato’s, leading her to a sofa on one wall of the living room, where Cinnamon and Miri were talking with Shinji and Asuka, who were wearing kenpo clothes. They bowed to each other, then the four of them vanished down a hallway opposite the one she had entered through. Artisha and Faern’ya continued teasing each other as if they hadn’t noticed Misato had been taken from between them.

“Class is over,” Rei said, while pressing a black plastic object with two joysticks, two triggers, and several buttons on it, into Misato’s hand. “Now it’s time for you.”

“Time for me? What – ?” Misato started, while the wall opposite the couch lit up with an image of a shambling corpse and the words “DAY OF THE SHIKABANE” arranged around the corpse.

“This will keep us busy until we are called for dinner.” Rei gave her one of her secretive smiles before adding, “It might help your stress level, too. Just watch what I do at first. Fortunately, there is a tutorial level, but it helps to know how to use a controller first.”

“A controller.” Misato peered at the object in her hand. “This looks vaguely like the controller for a field-deployable drone.”

“That was how I saw it at first, too,” Rei said. “It has so much more potential, though. Each game uses the controls in its own way. In this game you have several choices for characters. You can play a litter of bubasti kittens, a sorcerer, a Mad, someone who’s had basic militia training, a dragon hatchling, a martial artist, a gang of pixies, or a scylla soldier, and all but the scylla, kittens, pixies, and hatchling can be played in a number of different races, from dwarf to avir.”

“A game?” Misato asked. “Is this what you meant when you were talking about video games? I was imagining something like those pre-Impact consoles you could play virtual tennis on.”

“Oh, there are game programmers in Laputa who have gone well beyond that,” Rei said. “This is just one of a number of games written by a girl named Widget. Apparently her zombie games are the most popular, especially among kittens.”

“Among kittens,” Misato repeated. “What do you mean?”

“This,” Rei said. She manipulated her controller, and the display on the wall changed to a menu, laid over artwork of a quality Misato would expect in a museum. She quickly chose ‘bubasti kitten’ as her character, and six lion cubs appeared on the screen. She flicked through menu choices almost too fast to follow, and the lion cubs changed into humanoid felines, then to two boys and four girls, all about eight or nine years old, then to house cat kittens. “They come as a litter because at that age, kittens never leave their brothers and sisters unless they’re forced to.”

“Against shikabane?” Misato asked, forgetting for a moment that Rei had said this was just a game. “Isn’t that kind of cruel?”

“Don’t worry,” Rei said. “The shikabane aren’t aware enough to suffer, except for the bosses.”

The display changed to a ruined city, with shambling corpses everywhere. Rei manipulated her joysticks, and the six cubs moved through the city, shrinking to kitten form to thread through smaller openings, then back up to their cub or humanoid forms to use their claws on the majority of the corpses. Every so often they would sit to groom, rotating watch as they did so, so nothing could sneak up on them. The cubs went into a bunker and locked the door behind them, then Rei looked at Misato. “Do you want to try it for yourself?”

Misato shook her head, pulling herself back from the shocked trance she had settled into. “Those… those kittens…,” she gasped. “They’re deadly!”

“Yes,” Rei said, nodding. “And they’re rather proud of it, too. Luckily, this is just a game, so the grooming is nothing more than a programming feature. I have been told that the real thing will often complain about how bad zombies or demons taste when they’re grooming themselves.”

“The real thing,” Misato said, giving Rei a sour look. “You want me to believe that those are real.”

“They’re just as real as Fred and Miri,” Rei said.

“That’s different,” Misato answered. “They demonstrated it. Well, he did, at least. I’m not sure whether she actually changed or he messed with my mind somehow.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Rei said. “He considers mental influence for any reason other than communication to be rape, unless he’s doing it in response to someone attacking him or someone he’s protecting.”

“What about what he did to me?” Misato demanded.

“What about it?” Rei answered. “He did not change anything in your mind – your thoughts, your memories, your knowledge – all he did was make it impossible for you to tell anyone who wasn’t there what you learned in that room, or anything you concluded based on what you had learned. You remembered everything you witnessed, and were able to think about it all you wanted, in any way you wanted, which I am certain you did while you were confined.”

“I – how did you know that?” Misato asked.

“It was an easy conclusion to reach,” Rei said, setting her controller aside and turning to face Misato. “The circumstances were so emotionally difficult, you would have either returned to the memories again and again, in an attempt to understand what happened, or you would have attempted to repress them. Given that you are unable to repress far more painful memories without artificial assistance, I concluded that you would pick at the memories as if you were trying to pull out a splinter.”

“You…,” Misato started, then sighed. “...are far more human than my first three weeks here led me to believe.”

“I just needed permission to become so,” Rei said, giving Misato a warm smile.

The display switched off, and Fred’s voice, coming from wherever the game’s sounds had come from, said, “Dinner’s ready. Sorry I disappeared after dropping you out front, but I needed to finish the sauce.”

The sounds of a string quartet replaced Fred’s voice, just in time for Shinji to blush as he stopped at the living room entrance, while Asuka pushed past him with a look of pride on her face. Cinnamon stopped behind Shinji and whispered to him. He turned to her and whispered back, and she giggled, whispered some more, then kissed the tip of his nose.

“That’s amazing,” Misato said.

“Thank you,” Rei said. “Cin and Asuka play violin, I play viola, and Shinji plays cello. Master was inspired to get me a viola to practice with when he heard Shinji play. Shinji still has trouble believing that he is a virtuoso.”

“If this is the way you play together,” Misato said firmly, “I’m going to leave you all under his supervision. I know I couldn't have managed this level of unity. It’s too bad Cinnamon isn’t a pilot. The four of you working as a team would be unstoppable.”

“Shinji and Asuka work well as a team already,” Rei said. She looked into the distance, then smiled. The display came back on, showing Shinji and Asuka battling Israfel, complete with musical guidance.

Misato watched, her jaw slack, and when the fight was over, she continued to stare at the display for a moment, before turning to look at Shinji and Asuka with admiration. “The two of you were amazing. Whose idea was it to synchronize your moves with music?”

“I have several friends who combine dance and martial arts,” Fred said from the dining table. “Given what we discovered about Israfel, it seemed a perfect fit. Is everyone ready to come to the table?”

Each place was set with a small dish of some kind of blue slaw and a rice bowl, each bowl topped with something in a creamy sauce, except one place that had a stack of fish on a plate. A tall glass of something that looked like iced tea with milk, with an extra large straw, completed each place setting.

Rei stood and gestured toward the table. “Shall we? Master’s an excellent cook, despite his insistence he’s the least talented cook in the family.”

“I am,” Fred said, then grinned. “Just wait until you taste Hel’s cooking. She’s so good, I only ever bother to make chili at home.”

“And you have yet to make that here,” Rei said.

“I’m not sure you could handle his chili,” Miri said. “Not yet, at least. Even his mildest chili is spicier than anything he’s made since I arrived.”

“Even his mildest chili?” Misato asked.

“Yes,” Fred said. “I usually make three different heats. One that’s thickened with masa, one that’s thickened with powdered red chilis, and one that’s thickened with powdered ghost peppers. Most people stick to my masa-thickened chili.”

“And even then, we keep plenty of milk handy to neutralize the heat,” Miri said. She took the seat to Fred’s right, while Rei took the seat to his left. Asuka, Cinnamon, and Shinji sat on the same side of the table as Rei, while the Jensens and Faern’ya sat along the same side as Miri, leaving three seats on the same side as the pilots and the seat at the end of the table opposite Fred open.

Ginger and Red came out of the kitchen with Pen-Pen between them, and all three sat at the table beside the pilots, with Ginger closest to the end of the table. Misato swallowed, then sat at the empty place.

“Pen-Pen? You’re sitting at the table?” Misato gasped, when she saw the penguin take a seat.

“Of course,” Pen-Pen said. “Fred said you were going to be here, and it’s been months since I saw you.”

“You’re talking! How?” Misato asked, staring at Pen-Pen. She noticed he wasn’t wearing his backpack any more. Instead, he had a sparkling black plastic collar, about a centimeter wide and half a centimeter thick.

“He included a voice box when he replaced my pack,” Pen-Pen said. “It’s a lot easier to get around this way, and I don’t have to rely on people guessing what I want. He even fixed it so I don’t have to try to use a keyboard to use the living room computer. Now I don’t have to settle for daytime television to keep from being bored to tears.”

“The living room computer?” Misato glanced toward where the display had been. Nothing looked like a computer – not even a laptop.

“Yup,” Pen-Pen said. “I can show you later. After we eat.”

With a chorus of “Itadakimasu”, people began eating. The topping on the rice bowl surprised Misato, with a mixture of spice, sweet, and savory flavors that blended in a way she had only ever had before at an expensive restaurant. The sauce coated some kind of flavorful meat and cubes of something like mushroom, but blue and very mild. Faern’ya took a taste, then looked up with a surprised expression.

“You got rothé and bluecap?” Faern’ya asked. “How?”

“I have connections,” Fred said. “It was easier getting rothé than beef, and they threw in the bluecap for free. And, yes, I tested it for poison before adding it to the curry.”

“Good,” Faern’ya said, and went back to eating.

“Curry?” Misato asked, looking from the rice bowl to Fred and back again. “This doesn’t taste anything like curry!”

“Nothing like instant curry, at least,” Fred said. “It’s actually a simple creamy red curry, made according to one of my favorite Thai recipes. I could have made a green curry, but rothé is as hearty as beef, so it usually goes better with a red sauce.”

“Red? Green?” Misato asked, confused. “What are you talking about? Curry is brown.”

“Well, curry powder is, anyway,” Fred said, “But that’s only one of a thousand different curry recipes, and it’s not even really Indian. Some Brit came up with it, and the Brits brought it to Japan ” He shrugged and picked up a piece of meat from his bowl. “This is from the Underdark, as is the mushroom, the sauce is made from ingredients that grow in a lot of places, and the rice could be from anywhere. Like NERV, it’s a mixed-up mess of ingredients from too many places to claim any single origin. Speaking of NERV, did you stop by headquarters after leaving us, or decide to leave that for tomorrow? Hopefully you decided to wait. I’m pretty sure the soldiers will be more likely to give you a break if they see I’m getting along with you.”

“I hadn’t even made it that far,” Misato admitted. It was true. She had got home to an empty apartment, without even Pen-Pen for company, and she had just sat, looking at her boxes, until Fred had rung the doorbell when he arrived to pick her up.

“No problem, then,” Fred said, as casually as if he encountered situations like this every day. “I’ll see what I can do about stopping by once you’re at the office.” He paused. “Oh! Speaking of the office...” He looked into the distance for a moment, then continued. “Mayachan!” He laughed for a moment. “Yes, yes, I know I’m rude. Anyway, is Ritsuko free? Thanks.” After another moment of waiting, he continued. “Yes, yes, I know we’re not at work. No emergencies, either.” He laughed. “Sorry, Ritchan. I only let someone I’m married to do that, and besides, don’t you think Maya would have something to say about that?” He grinned in Misato’s direction. “Did the commander tell you that Misato’s back?” He nodded. “That’s right. Barring an apocalypse that destroys the geofront, she’ll be at the office tomorrow.” He chuckled. “I don’t know. I could ask her if you want. She’s having dinner with us.” He broke into laughter again. “This afternoon. She stopped by the pool to be vetted by the pilots, while you were in Jet’s cabin, trying to debug his code.” He paused a moment, nodding. “Yeah. Gendo told her she could return to active duty once the three of them approved. So she’ll be at the office tomorrow.” He nodded. “That’s right, even Shinji.” He chuckled. “Uh-huh. I may have despised the drunk, but I think I like the new Misato. She could even end up joining my menagerie of interesting friends.” He grinned and added, “Like you and Maya.” He broke into what sounded to Misato like the croaking laughter of a raven, grinned at Misato again, then returned to his meal.

“I guess he likes you,” Faern’ya commented, “if he’s going to consider you one of us.” She put down her fork and offered her hand. “I’m Faern’ya. Formerly of House Rastain, now the Abbess of the Order of the Fallen Sparrow.”

Misato took the hand, studying the black woman curiously. “Abbess? You’re… umm… not dressed like a nun.”

“Not a Catholic nun, that’s for sure,” Faern’ya chuckled. “No, our official uniform...I think you surfacers call it a habit?... is more practical. We need to be able to tend to the dead and fight unauthorized undead or necromancers without necessarily having time to change between. So, I require something that can be easily cleaned as well as provide reliable protection against teeth, claws, and spells.”

“...and spells.” Misato gave Faern’ya a raised eyebrow. Faern’ya grinned and held up a single finger. Light, like the light of phosphorescent mushrooms, began dancing about the tip, then spread to cover the entire table and everyone sitting at it.

“Faern’ya,” Miri said in the tone of a long-suffering mother, without looking down the length of the table, “don’t you think there’s already plenty of light to eat by?” Then she gave Fred a raised eyebrow. “And what have I told you about making phone calls at the table?”

Fred blushed, while Faern’ya giggled softly and pulled the light back into her finger. Misato noticed that she was the only person at the table who seemed at all surprised by the light show. Even Shinji kept on eating as calmly as Rei, while Asuka merely paused long enough to put on sunglasses before going back to her food.

“Good thing glowing sardines taste the same as normal sardines,” Pen-Pen commented, raising his gaze from his plate to Faern’ya as if measuring her for a coffin.

“The only thing I’d ever do to the fish on this planet is get rid of that nasty taint they have,” Faern’ya said. “Good thing the people here figured out how to clean the water for farming them. I wouldn’t eat anything tainted by that red water. It’s damned near anti-LCL.”

“Probably comes from Adam, then,” Fred said, shrugging. “I’d have to completely replace the oceans to get rid of it, and it’s still bleeding from the White Moon, so that would only be a temporary fix. If it weren’t for SEELE, I’d pull the White Moon out of Antarctica and dispose of it, but we still have to play nice.”

“Only until I can find the rest of the directors, Uncle Fred,” Cinnamon said, with a nasty grin. She looked to Misato as if she were planning on using her teeth on the directors.

“The rest of?” Misato asked.

“There’s only six left,” Cinnamon said, now looking smug, like a cat that had just dropped a mouse on the bed. “And they’re only still around because they’re paranoid enough to make Gendo seem casual and careless by comparison.”

Misato looked from Cinnamon to Ginger, who was smiling proudly at her younger version. “You’re talking like murdering them is just a casual thing.”

“Assassination, not murder,” Cinnamon corrected. “Assassins provide a necessary service. Murderers just kill people. It’s like the difference between bringing your prey back when you go hunting, and simply leaving it where you killed it so it can rot. Besides, the directors want to wipe out the entire human race. It’s my _duty_ to stop them.”

The way Cinnamon said it, and the way her parents looked at her when she talked about murdering the directors being her duty, made Misato wonder just what she had walked into.

“So you send soldiers to arrest them,” Misato said.

“And why do you send soldiers?” Cinnamon asked. “You send them because you know they’re probably going to resist, and you’ll have to kill people to get to them. When bubasti or assassins hunt them, you can kill a lot fewer people. Usually just the bad guy in charge.” She grinned proudly. “So far, I’ve only had to kill ten people. And four of them were because one director had a dead-man switch I hadn’t known about. They came in shooting, and I had to kill them to get out.” She shook her head, looking sad. “I wish I had Aunt Grandma’s gift for sorcery. She doesn’t get surprised by stuff like that.”

Ginger snorted, put her fork down, and smiled proudly at Cinnamon. “As proud as I am of you wanting to keep your body count down, hon, I can tell I’m going to have to tell you some stories. Later.”

“Aunt Grandma,” Misato said, then shook her head. “the more I hear, the more confusing it gets.”

“Oh, Lauren’s cool,” Fred said. “She’s one of my Knights, like Sally and Tish. She and Diana are the calmest and most disciplined of any of us.”

“No question,” Artisha said. “The two of them are the wise counselors of the Knights.”

“If _he’s_ your leader,” Misato grumbled, “you _need_ wise counselors.”

“She’s figured it out!” Sally laughed.

Fred looked up from his rice bowl, grinned and winked at Misato, and raised his glass. “I hope you like boba. I made mango. It’s one of my favorite flavors.”

Misato picked up her glass and gave it a curious look. Boba? What was that? She took a sip, and something plugged the straw. She sucked harder, and a ball of something sweet shot into her mouth, along with a mouthful of mango-flavored milk tea. She noticed Fred was chewing, so she bit into the ball and discovered it was a big tapioca pearl. Mango milk tea with tapioca pearls? It was weird, but she had to admit it tasted good. She sucked up another pearl, just to be sure, then smiled and nodded at Fred.

“Bubble tea,” Shinji said. “That’s what my sensei called it. He’d make it on the days it was extra hot.”

“Yeah,” Fred said. “Most of the people I know call it boba because we were introduced to it by a friend who runs a Chinese restaurant. I know, technically it’s bōbà nǎichá, but most everyone just calls it boba.”

“Well, unless you’re ordering at the restaurant,” Faern’ya pointed out. “After all, they have a variety of teas there.”

“I wonder if there’s anyone here who makes this,” Misato said. “It’s really good.”

“I’m afraid we haven’t found anyone,” Miri said. “Shinji is the first person from this world who I’ve heard mention knowing anything about it.”

“My sensei said it was an accidental invention,” Shinji said. “He spilled some tapioca pearls into his milk tea and wasn’t willing to waste it, so he drank it. He liked it so much he decided to try making it on purpose, and now he makes it any time it’s really hot.”

“He should sell the recipe to a tea shop,” Fred said. “If he sells it for a percentage, he’ll be set for the rest of his life.”

“He’s been learning from Sven,” Sally snickered. “About time.”

Fred grinned and rolled his eyes. Misato snorted. She didn’t know who Sven was, but apparently he knew something about business. The idea of Fred learning about business struck her as funny.

“That’s what I like to see,” Fred said. “No one should take me too seriously. Kami knows I don’t.”

“And if he starts to take himself too seriously, we’re here to give him an atomic wedgie,” Sally said, grinning at Fred.

Shinji shuddered, Cinnamon giggled, Red let out a soft barking laugh.

Miri closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then said firmly, “There are some subjects that are not appropriate for the dinner table, Sally. Can we please try to be polite when we have a guest, at least?”

Sally and Faern’ya said, in stereo, “Yes, Mom,” while Artisha snickered.

Misato shook her head. Talking about murder… err, assassination… at the table was all right, but talking about wedgies was impolite? Miri had a strange sense of priorities.

“Oh yes,” Fred said. “There’s tiramisu for dessert. I hope no one objects.”

A chorus of approval rose from around the table, and everyone focused on their meal, clearly enthused by the idea of tiramisu.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ireul pays a visit. Things get exciting.

“So what do you think?” Fred asked, sitting on Yui’s shoulder.

“She’s different,” Kyouko said. “When she was in Germany, she was fresh out of college and full of rebellious fire. Now, she seems exhausted and world-weary.”

“She’s sober,” Fred said. “When she was younger, she was using alcohol to try to blot out her memories. Ginger’s been helping her with that.”

“She doesn’t know that Ginger is bubasti, does she?” Kyouko asked.

“I don’t believe so,” Yui said. “What I saw yesterday and this morning tells me she’s someone I’m willing to trust near Shinji. At least for now.”

“No,” Fred said. “She’s still having trouble with the idea of magic. Ginger seems to have decided that revealing what she and Cin are would be a bad idea for now. I’m going along with them.”

“We’ll go along with it too, then,” Kyouko said. She and Yui nodded in unison.

“Yup.” Fred stood, patted Yui’s shoulder, and floated off toward the door to the control room. “I need to pay a visit to Operations so the soldiers can see Misato and I are getting along.”

“That’s going to be interesting,” Yui said. “Do you think the soldiers will accept it?”

“They know how much I despised the drunk,” Fred said. “Seeing me work with Misato should be enough to convince them she’s changed.”

“I hope so,” Kyouko said. “It’s hard to get by if you’re working with people who are fighting each other.”

“I know,” Fred said. “See you ladies later.” He walked through the door and closed it behind him.

  


“Misato!” Fred called as he walked into the command center. “Yui and Kyouko are ready to meet you in person. Oh yes, and there’s Jet Alone, too.”

Maya smiled and nodded at Makoto, who entered a command on his panel, and the main display lit up with an image of Jet Alone playing in the geofront lake.

“Hi Jet!” Fred called out, and his voice boomed out in the display.

Jet Alone looked up from his play and called back happily, “Uncle Fred! What’cha doin?”

“I’m introducing a new person,” Fred said. “She’s another human, so she’s small enough to fit in your cabin.”

“Really?” Jet Alone asked. He clapped his hands together excitedly. “Will she visit me like Big Sister and Aunt Ritsuko do?”

“You’ll have to ask her,” Fred said, grinning. Maya covered her face to hide a grin of her own, and Makoto chuckled softly. “Well, what do you think, Misato?”

“I think…,” Misato started. She looked into the display, where the giant robot, with an AI controlling it and the emotional maturity of a four-year-old, was looking up from where it had been playing in the lake. Upsetting the AI was probably not a good idea. “I think I need to meet Jet Alone in person. His control cabin is probably the best place to do that.”

“Hurray!” Jet Alone crowed. “Can Mama Yui carry her out when she comes to play?”

“Of course, honey,” Yui’s voice said. “I’ll bring her out with me when I come to play. Do you want Mama Kyouko to join me?”

“Can she?” Jet Alone asked, excited.

“Of course I can, liebling,” Kyouko’s voice answered.

“We’ll be out in a bit,” Fred said. “See you soon!”

“Yay!” Jet Alone crowed, then dove back into the lake.

Fred nodded at Makoto, who turned off the display.

“He’s a good kid,” Makoto said. “You’ll like him, once you get to know him.”

“I don’t know how to deal with children,” Misato groaned. She gave Fred a miserable look, that practically said, “what do I do _now_?”

“Don’t worry,” Fred said. “Just treat him like you treated the pilots last night. You’ll be fine.”

Misato rubbed her face, then sighed and followed Fred out of the command center.

  


“You’re nothing like your file said,” Misato said, looking up at Unit 02. “Why is your file so wrong?”

“Faern’ya restored my soul,” Kyouko said. “And Ginger helped me regain my sanity. I am easily as able to help Asuka as Yui is to help Shinji. As long as you can manage operations as well as your file says you can, we’ll work together just fine.”

“You know,” Yui said, “Jet Alone will be able to help out some, too, once he’s had a chance to grow up some more. He really needs more to do than play in the geofront. We’ve been doing what we can to help him feel loved, but even at his age, he’s feeling the need to be a part of things.”

“What can he do?” Misato asked. The way they talked about the AI-controlled mecha still made her uncomfortable, but it was obvious she was the only one here who wasn’t comfortable with it.

“Quite a bit, actually,” Fred said. “Besides being as big as Yui and Kyouko, I’ve been upgrading his armor and power supply, so he could safely have a human companion. He can use any of the Eva-sized weapons, and he wants to protect all his human friends from the bad things.” He shook his head. “He doesn’t really understand what the bad things are, just that they want to hurt his friends. We’re going to have to teach him about them sooner or later, or he’s going to start developing anxiety about them.”

“Anxiety?” Misato asked, giving Fred a look of disbelief. “But that’s a human emotion.”

“He has them,” Fred said, shrugging. “He may not have a soul, but he has all the thoughts and feelings of a human.”

  


“ _Master? Something feels wrong with this test.”_

“ _What do you mean, Rei?”_

“ _Ritsuko said they’re trying to get readings of our harmonics without interference from our plug suits, but there’s something wrong with the link to the simulation bodies. Shinji and Asuka feel it, too.”_

“ _I’ll be right there.”_

“Sorry, ladies,” Fred said. “Rei said she’s feeling something wrong with today’s test. I’m going to join Ritsuko to find out what’s going on.”

“Call me if you find a problem,” Misato said. “We can’t afford to have trouble when the next Angel appears.”

“Will do.” Fred vanished with a soft pop, then reappeared in the testing center beside Ritsuko. “What’s wrong? Rei said something feels off about the test.”

“It’s some kind of corrosion in the protein wall above this floor,” Maya said. “Makoto says it’s in the parts that were installed three days ago.”

“What parts?” Fred asked, suddenly on edge. “I didn’t have anything to do with installing anything new.”

“You didn’t?” Ritsuko asked. “Maya! Find out who’s responsible for those new parts. Come on, Fred. Let’s find out what’s going on.”

“What about the test?” Maya asked.

“Continue,” Ritsuko said. “As long as it’s above us, we should be fine, and we can’t terminate tests for anything that doesn’t affect the Eva systems. We’ll call you if we find anything.”

Fred and Ritsuko started for the exit, and had almost reached the door when the displays began flashing an alarm.

“What is it?” Ritsuko demanded.

“We have a contamination alert in the Sigma unit on the A floor,” Maya reported.

“The 87th protein wall is corroding and releasing heat,” Shigeru reported over the intercom. “We’ve detected an abnormality in the 6th pipe as well.”

“Corrosion of the protein wall is proceeding at an incredible rate!” Maya exclaimed.

Fred threw up a holographic display of the areas the trouble was in.

Ritsuko studied the display, then barked out, “Abort the experiment! Shut down the 6th pipe!”

“Roger!” Maya responded and worked her panel.

“Numbers 60, 38, and 39 are all closed,” one of the techs in the test control room reported.

“Corrosion has occurred in 6-42,” another tech added.

“No effect!” Maya said. “Corrosion is spreading along the walls.”

“Prepare the polysomes,” Ritsuko commanded. “Set laser power at maximum. Shoot the invasive particles.”

“Corrosion has reached 6-58,” Maya said. “It’s here!”

Laser drones moved through the water in the test chamber. Rei screamed, and her simulation body began moving.

“ _Master! It’s moving on its own! I feel an Angel!”_

“ _An Angel? Shit!”_

“Ritsuko! We have an Angel!” Fred barked.

“The corrosion is still spreading!” Maya said. “It’s invading the simulation bodies through the water system!”

Rei’s simulation body reached for the control booth. Fred smashed the glass over a pull handle that read “FORCE SHUTDOWN”. Explosives blew the body’s arms off.

“Eject the plugs! Now!” Ritsuko commanded.

All three plugs shot through the ceiling above the simulation bodies and a hatch slammed shut behind them. The laser drones fired on the simulation bodies and the visible corrosion. When the beams struck the corrosion, thousands of tiny AT fields appeared over it, blocking the beams.

“Confirmed!” Maya said. “Pattern is blue!”

“There’s no question,” Ritsuko said. “It’s an Angel. Fred! Get the pilots!”

Fred popped out of the control room and reappeared where the entry plugs had landed in the lake. He extruded control cables and used the emergency override to pop the hatches. As the pilots climbed out, he pulled lab coats out of his pocket for them to wear. “Come on! I’m taking you to the locker room so you can shower and get dressed.”

Without waiting for an answer, he teleported all three to the locker room, then popped back to the control booth. “What do we have?”

“Isolate the Sigma Unit!” Fuyutsuki’s voice said over the intercom.

“Evacuate!” Fred barked.

While the techs fled through the door, Ritsuko stared out the window into the test cell.

“What are you doing? Come on!” Fred snapped as he grabbed Ritusko and ran out with her, just before the door slammed shut.

They were half-way down the hall to the next blast door when the alarm went silent.

“What the hell?” Fred muttered.

“I don’t know,” Ritsuko panted. “We’ll find out when we get to the command center.”

The sound of a launch catapult shook the hallway as Fred and Ritsuko dove through the next blast door, just as it was beginning to close.

“That had to be Unit 00,” Fred said. “Yui and Kyouko are with Jet Alone. That reminds me… Misato! Get back to Central Control! We have an Angel in the Sigma Unit!”

“We what?” Misato’s voice answered, shocked. “Yui! Put me down by the nearest entrance to Central Dogma!”

“ _What’s going on?”_

“ _There’s an Angel in Central Dogma. You and Kyouko need to stay out with Jet Alone so it doesn’t attack you. Given its behavior, I think it’s nanites.”_

“ _And if they get into our electronics...”_

“ _Right. Neither of you are fully upgraded, so you’re still vulnerable. And Jet’s completely vulnerable. Don’t let the Angel get to him.”_

“ _We’re on it. I just delivered Misato to one of the geofront doors. She’ll be at the Command Center in a minute or two.”_

“ _Good. Now to find out… oh!”_

“Gendo and Fuyutsuki are back,” Fred said. “Gendo ordered the alarm shut off and told Fuyutsuki to tell JSSDF and SEELE that it’s an alarm malfunction. That’ll give us time to deal with it.”

“Thank goodness for that!” Ritsuko said. She hit the call button for an elevator to Central Command and the two of them piled in.

“All of Central Dogma below Sigma Unit will be shut down in sixty seconds,” The intercom announced. “Thirty seconds until activation of vacuum pump.”

“That’s not going to work against nanites,” Fred muttered.

“Central Dogma has been sealed,” the intercom said a few seconds later. “Mega-depth facilities are entirely occupied by the intruder.”

Fred and Ritsuko slid into Central Command, and saw Misato studying a display in front of Makoto’s panel.

“There’s the boundary between the ultrapure water and the heavy water,” Makoto said. “It’s pretty clear they don’t like the heavy water.”

“There’s a lot more oxygen in there,” Misato said.

“It’s not contaminated near where we vent in ozone to maintain aseptic conditions,” Makoto said.

“So does that mean its weakness is ozone?” Misato mused softly.

“It seems that way,” Ritsuko said, looking over Misato and Makoto’s shoulders.

“Do it,” Misato said.

“Injecting ozone,” Makoto said. “Ozone concentration is increasing.”

On the display, the ozone level had reached the concentration Fred used for sterilizing delicate instruments, and was continuing to climb. The contamination appeared to be retreating. Or dying.

“Zero A and Zero B seem to be recovering,” Maya said.

“The area around the pipes is returning to normal,” Makoto said.

“The central portion is proving a little more difficult,” Shigeru said.

“Inject more ozone,” Makoto said, moving to do just that.

“This isn’t right,” Ritsuko whispered.

“What? It’s increasing?” Shigeru exclaimed.

“Something is wrong,” Makoto said. “Heat levels are increasing. The contaminated area is spreading again.”

“The ozone is no longer having an effect,” Maya said.

“Now it’s absorbing the ozone,” Makoto said.

“Stop the ozone!” Ritsuko commanded. She studied the display, then muttered, “Amazing. It’s evolving before our eyes.”

The alarm began blaring again.

“Now what?” Misato exclaimed.

“Something’s hacking into the subcomputer,” Makoto reported. “The intruder hasn’t been identified.”

“It’s the Angel,” Fred growled.

“Not now!’ Makoto snapped. “Dealing with C-mode.”

“Unfreeze the barrier,” Shigeru said. “Open a decoy entry.”

“Decoy entry has been avoided,” Makoto said. “T-minus eighteen seconds to completion of trace.”

“Spreading barrier,” Shigeru said.

“Barrier has been penetrated,” Makoto said.

“Open another false entry,” Shigeru said.

“No human could do this,” Makoto said. “Trace complete. The hacker is inside this facility!”

“Are you sure it’s the Angel?” Ritsuko asked softly.

“Positive,” Fred said. “It’s going for the Magi. You’re going to have to defend them.”

“Me?” Ritsuko asked, staring at Fred.

“You’re the only one who knows your mother’s programming tricks,” Fred said. “You know how to boost their immune system. I’ll try to slow it down.”

Without waiting for an answer, Fred sank to the floor, extruded several cables, plugged into Maya’s console, and dove into the NERV network.

“It’s in the B Wing,” Shigeru said, then gasped. “in the Pribnow Box!”

“ _Now, now,”_ Fred said in the network, _“don’t you know it’s rude to break other people’s toys?”_

“ _I will destroy Lilith,”_ a chorus of voices answered. _“Her spawn cannot stop me.”_

“ _Lucky for them I’m her lover,”_ Fred chuckled, _“not one of her spawn. And I rather like her spawn. So I’m going to have to stop you.”_

“ _You?”_ the chorus replied dismissively. _“You are only one. I am legion.”_

“Optical pattern is changing,” Maya said.

“Those glowing lines look like electronic circuits,” a tech said.

“This is just like a computer,” Shigeru gasped.

“Opening another decoy entry,” Makoto said. “It failed. There’s interference.”

“Cut the main cable,” Misato commanded.

“Negative,” Shigeru said. “It refuses to accept the command.”

“Fire the laser,” Misato said.

“It generated an AT field,” Maya said. “No effect.”

“It’s accessing the main security bank,” Shigeru said. “It’s cracking the pass code.”

“ _Now look what you made me do,”_ Fred commented, as he used his personal access to change the security pass code.

“ _You are only one,”_ the chorus said. _“I am legion. Each one of me can attack simultaneously while there is only one of you to defend.”_

“ _Maybe so,”_ Fred agreed, _“but I have an advantage you don’t.”_

The geofront vibrated to the sound of Fred’s voice as he spoke. “I MAY ONLY BE ONE, BUT I HAVE THE POWER TO DELAY YOU LONG ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE HERE TO STOP YOU.”

  


Jet Alone yelped and hid between Yui and Kyouko. “Uncle Fred’s scary!”

“Only to people who try to hurt his friends, honey,” Yui said, as she and Kyouko hugged Jet Alone.

“And that means you,” Kyouko said. “You’re his little boy, and he loves you just like we do.”

  


“ _Master? What happened?”_

“ _An Angel is invading the computers in Central Dogma.”_

“ _Why did you say you may only be one?”_

“ _Because the Angel is a colony of nanites.”_

“ _Oh dear. Please be careful.”_

“ _All I have to do is keep it distracted until Ritsuko can drive it out.”_

“ _Is it attacking the Magi?”_

“ _That’s where it’s headed, yes.”_

“ _I’ll stop distracting you, then.”_

“ _Tell the others what’s happening, OK?”_

“ _I will. I love you, Master.”_

“ _I love you, too, Rei.”_

  


“Twelfth digit… sixteenth digit… D word has been cleared!” Shigeru said.

“It’s broken into the main banks!” Makoto exclaimed. “It’s reading the main bank. We can’t stop it.”

  


“ _Enjoy!”_ Fred chuckled, as he filled the system’s main banks with every cheesy movie, animation, image, and sound file David had on file. The download – somewhere on the order of a thousand zettabytes – took just over 100 picoseconds. _“The security key is somewhere in there. Have fun finding it.”_

The chorus let out a howl of rage and attempted a direct assault on Fred. He fell back, leaving one of Cal’s simple security mazes behind for the Angel to find its way through.

“What does it want?” Fuyutsuki muttered.

“Scanning the main directories,” Shigeru said. “What? There’s more data in there than should be possible!”

“I believe we are getting help,” Gendo said softly, gesturing toward Fred.

“This code is…,” Shigeru started, trailed off, then gasped, “My God! It’s going after the Magi!”

“Shut down I/O system,” Gendo commanded. He added, under his breath, “And pray Fred gave us the time we need.”

Makoto and Shigeru inserted their keys, counted down, and turned them.

“We can’t shut it down!” Makoto yelled.

“The Angel is intruding further into the system,” Maya said. “It’s made contact with Melchior!” She worked her panel frantically, then called out, “It’s taking over Melchior!”

“They need you, Ritsuko,” Fred’s voice said from Maya’s panel. “I’m slowing it down, but it’s like bailing a tsunami with a teaspoon.”

“Melchior is being reprogrammed by the Angel!” Maya said.

“Melchior’s self-destruct has been initiated,” a synthesized voice said. “Overruled. Overruled.”

“Melchior is hacking into Balthazar!” Shigeru said.

“Damn. It’s too fast!” Makoto said.

“What calculation speed!” Shigeru said.

Ritsuko leaned over Maya and worked her keys, then stood and barked, “Change the logic mode. Change synchronization code to every fifteen seconds.”

“Roger!” Makoto and Shigeru answered in unison.

“That’s helping,” Fred said, “But it’s only going to work for so long. I gave it a thousand zettabytes of data to chew on, and it went through it in just a few seconds. It brute-force penetrated one of my son’s best security programs just as fast. They need you, Ritsuko.”

“How much time did we buy,” Fuyutsuki asked.

“At least two hours, I think,” Makoto said uncertainly.

“The Magi have become our enemy,” Gendo muttered.

  


The command staff gathered around a light table, as Ritsuko briefed them.

“Just as Fred said,” Ritsuko said, “the Angel is composed of nanites – micro-machines, each the size of a virus. They group together to form colonies. In a very short time, they evolved exponentially to form a sophisticated intelligence circuit.”

“Evolved?” Fuyutsuki asked.

“Yes,” Ritsuko said. “They’re continuously changing themselves to form the best system to cope with any environment.”

“That’s their survival mechanism as a life form,” Fuyutsuki mused.

“Not only that,” Fred said, “there are so many of them that they can operate as subsystems, each one independent of the main colony. That’s how they got through my attempts to slow them. They simply assigned a few thousand subsystems to attack my data simultaneously, guaranteeing that eventually they would penetrate, like a colony of ants attacking an elephant.”

“Against an enemy that evolves to overcome its weaknesses,” Misato said, “the only effective countermeasure is to eliminate the host and let the parasite die with it. The only option is to order the Magi to commit suicide. I propose the physical elimination of the Magi.”

“Hold on there,” Fred said. “We have an advantage, now that they’re attacking the Magi. Sure, once they’re in one, they can take advantage of their speed, but the connections between them are a bottleneck we can take advantage of. That’s what slowed them down enough for Ritsuko’s plan to give us time.”

“That’s impossible!’ Ritsuko shot back over Fred. “Destroying the Magi means destroying headquarters itself.”

“Then I officially request it on behalf of the Operations Division,” Misato said.

“I reject it,” Ritsuko said. “This is a matter for the Technology Department.”

Misato glared at Ritsuko. Fred pinched his eyes together.

“ _Uh, Ginger? I think Misato needs some more help. She’s willing to destroy NERV headquarters in order to kill a single Angel.”_

“ _I was afraid of something like that. Even with my help against her nightmares, she hates Angels even more than she hates her memories.”_

“ _Shit. This is going to be a problem. Especially if she doesn’t get her hatred under control.”_

“Why are you being so mule-headed?” Misato snapped.

“This situation is a result of my carelessness,” Ritsuko said.

“Why do you always have to be like this?” Misato asked softly. “You always take the responsibility on your own shoulders and avoid depending on anyone.”

“As long as the Angel keeps evolving, we have a chance,” Ritsuko said.

“Accelerate its evolution?” Gendo asked.

“That’s right,” Ritsuko said.

“The end result of evolution is self-destruction,” Gendo mused. “Death itself. Thus, we just need to accelerate its evolution.”

“The Angel considers it the only practical means of survival,” Ritsuko said. “It may choose to co-exist with the Magi system.”

“But how?” Makoto asked.

“If the Angel is a computer itself,” Ritsuko said, “we can counter-hack it by connecting Caspar to the Angel and uploading a self-destruct program, but...”

“At the same time,” Maya said, “we’ll be turning off the barrier to the Angel.”

“So,” Gendo mused, “Either Caspar or the Angel, whichever is faster, will win.”

“That’s right,” Ritsuko said.

“Will the program be ready in time?” Misato asked. “If Caspar is taken over first, it’ll be all over.”

“I don’t like self-destruct programs,” Fred muttered, “But I have a few I’ve collected from other universes. You can use any of the code that’ll work with yours. That might speed things up.”

“I keep my promises,” Ritsuko said firmly. She nodded at Fred in response to his offer.

  


While Ritsuko opened physical access to Caspar, the intercom repeated an order for all D-class personnel to evacuate. She opened a hatch that led through the cooling system into the depths of Caspar’s hardware, with Post-It Notes sticking to pipes and cable runs on all sides.

“What are those?” Maya asked, looking past Ritsuko into the crawlway.

“Notes left by the developer,” Ritsuko said as she crawled in.

“My gosh! These are access codes!” Maya exclaimed. “Magi’s access codes! It’s like a special map to all of Magi’s back doors! Am I allowed to see these?”

Maya plucked a note off one of the pipes closest to the hatch. “I can’t believe it! This is INT-C! With these, we can program much faster than we thought!”

“Give me your pad, Maya,” Fred said. He stuck his head into the crawlway and scanned the notes, then uploaded their contents to Maya’s pad. “There you go. Everything’s there.”

“Thank you, Fred-san!” Maya exclaimed. “Ritsuko! We can do it!”

Fred pulled back and nodded to Misato. “Now, I need to plug into Balthazar and keep the Angel entertained while you’re working. It should give you a few more minutes.”

“Remember the fifteen-second synchronization,” Ritsuko said over her shoulder. “Now go. Come on, Maya. Let’s get to work.” She looked around at the notes and said softly, “Thank you, Mom. We can make it.”

Maya plugged her laptop into a cable that Ritsuko passed to her from inside the crawlway and sat, looking between her pad and the laptop. Misato crawled inside with Ritsuko.

Ritsuko wormed her way under a set of cooling pipes and began working on the hardware. She removed a module and passed it to Misato, who passed it out to Maya.

“Wrench,” Ritsuko said, holding her hand up. Misato handed her a wrench.

“Doesn’t this remind you of our college days?” Misato asked.

“Now, board number twenty-five,” Ritsuko said. Misato looked around and passed Ritsuko a laptop with a Post-It Note that had “25” written on it.

“How bout telling me about the Magi?” Misato asked. “Just a little?”

“It’s a long story,” Ritsuko said. “A long, boring story.” Ritsuko removed another module. “Do you know about personality transplant OS?”

“Yes,” Misato said. “It’s for implanting a person’s personality into a seventh generation computer so it can think. The same technology is used for the computers in the Evas. I’ve heard Magi’s programming used one of the first test subjects.”

“My mother developed the technology,” Ritsuko said, as she removed another module, revealing a panel that said “CASPAR 3 MAGI”.

“So, it was her personality that was transplanted?” Misato asked.

“Right!” Ritsuko said. She reached up with a saw and began cutting through the panel. “In a very real sense, these brains are my mother.”

Once she had cut through the panel and pulled out the piece, Ritsuko exposed something that looked like an organic brain.

“Is that why you wanted to protect the Magi?” Misato asked.

“I don’t think so,” Ritsuko said, as she studied a cable. “I didn’t really like my mom.” She selected several hypodermic probes and carefully slid them into the brain, then began typing rapidly, in unison with Maya’s typing outside.

  


“I’m backed up to the connection between the brains,” Fred said, as the alarm began blaring again. “Balthazar has been taken over. I’m flooding the connection with everything I can to keep the Angel busy.”

Misato stuck her head out of the crawlway. “Has it started yet?”

“Destruct will be triggered twenty seconds after all three magi consent,” the synthesized voice declared. “Destruction will encompass Geoid Depth -286, -140, and floor 0. Special Command 582 requires the consent of two computers to cancel the action.”

“Balthazar is now invading Caspar!” Makoto exclaimed.

“It’s faster than us!” Shigeru said. “What speed!”

“T-minus twenty to self-destruct,” the synthesized voice stated.

“My God!” Fuyutsuki gasped.

“Caspar will be taken over in eighteen seconds.” Shigeru said.

“T-minus fifteen to self-destruct,” the synthesized voice said.

“Ritsuko, hurry!” Misato exclaimed.

“Relax,” Ritsuko said, continuing to type. “I’ve got almost one whole second to spare.”

“T-minus ten to self-destruct,” the synthesized voice said.

“Only one?” Misato gasped.

“At least it’s not a zero or a minus,” Ritsuko said.

“Nine… eight… seven...” the synthesized voice said.

“Maya!” Ritsuko called.

“We can mmake it!” Maya called back.

“Six… five… four… three...” the synthesized voice continued.

“Hit it!” Ritsuko commanded.

Ritsuko and Maya hit their enter keys simultaneously.

“Two… one… zero…” the synthesized voice said.

After a moment, the synthesized voice said, “Self destruct has been canceled by the computers.”

The entire population of the command center, other than Gendo, let out a cheer.

“Special Command 582 is also canceled,” the synthesized voice said. “The Magi are returning to normal mode. The red alert has been canceled. All hands return to first stage alert.”

Ritsuko crawled out of the crawlway and slumped beside Maya. Maya sighed and leaned against her.

“Sigma Unit released.,” the synthesized voice announced. “T-minus zero three to Magi reactivation.”

Misato returned from the main level of the control center with two mugs of coffee. She offered one to Ritsuko, and the other to Maya.

“I’m getting old,” Misato said. “Staying up for these all-nighters is rough. You kept your promises again. Good job.”

Ritsuko took a long drink from the mug, then sighed. “Thank you.” She looked into the mug. “This is the first time I have ever really appreciated your coffee.”

Still looking into the mug, Ritsuko didn’t see the wince that crossed Misato’s face. Maya did her best to not let herself react to Misato’s expression.

“The night before she died,” Ritsuko continued, “my mother told me that the Magi are three aspects of herself. Herself as a scientist. Herself as a mother. Herself as a woman. The three aspects of her struggle for dominance inside the Magi. She intentionally implanted the dilemmas of human experience. Actually, each of the three programs are slightly different. I don’t think I’ll ever be a mother, and I don’t really understand her as a mother. I respected her as a scientist. However, as a woman, I hated her.”

She took another drink of coffee.

“You’re rather talkative today,” Misato said.

“Only sometimes,” Ritsuko said. “Caspar contains the program of her as a woman. She stayed a woman to the last. How totally like my mother.”

Ritsuko turned to Maya and nuzzled the top of her head, then sighed. “Well, we’re going to have to seal her up again. How are the pilots?”

“They’re out by the lake with Yui and Kyouko,” Misato said. She shook her head and sighed. “How long before you finish repairing Jet Alone?”

“He doesn’t really need repair,” Ritsuko said. “He just needs a chance to grow up.”

“Well, if Yui and Kyouko have anything to say about it, he’ll get that chance,” Misato said. She rubbed her face and muttered, “I still don’t like the idea of an AI in control of a mecha, but I’ve already been overruled on that, too, haven’t I?”

“I’m afraid so,” Ritsuko said, smiling.

“Aunt Ritsuko is his favorite human,” Maya said, with a teasing smile at Ritsuko. “He likes her even more than he likes Uncle Fred.”

“Mama Yui, Mama Kyouko, Aunt Ritsuko, Uncle Fred,” Misato shook her head. “He really is a little boy, isn’t he? And I suppose you’re Aunt Maya?”

“He really is,” Ritsuko said, while Maya began giggling. “You should get to know him. He’s going to be one of us for as long as any of us are around. And he’s a good kid.”

“That’s what everyone says,” Misato said, shaking her head. “Well, if we can trust your mother to run Central Dogma, I suppose I can learn to trust a little boy in an Eva-sized body.” She gave Maya a sour look and asked, “And what’s with all the giggles?”

Ritsuko chuckled. “She’s not Aunt Maya. She’s big sister.”

“Big sister?” Misato asked, stared at Maya for a moment, then broke into laughter. “Big Sister Maya. Well, big sister Maya just helped Aunt Ritsuko save his life, so I guess that means you qualify as a good big sister.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orbital drops are good for getting lots of energy.   
> The sabotage spreads to the motor pool. Misato doesn't get fragged.

“I don’t know who this is,” SSgt Yamashita muttered under his breath to Fred, “but she’s sure as hell not the Captain Katsuragi we all grew to know and hate last spring. Can we keep her?”

Fred laughed and nodded. “I’m afraid we’re stuck with her for the foreseeable future. Let’s try to make the most of it, huh?”

Yamashita gave Fred a confused look, then saw the grin on his face and cheerfully punched his shoulder. “You and your sense of humor. Seriously, though, I don’t know what happened to the Captain, but she’s entirely different from when she arrived here last spring.”

“I know. It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Fred grinned and nodded across the road from where he and Yamashita were sitting on a guard rail, toward where a HMMWV had run over the side into a ravine. Misato had shed her coat and was pitching in with the enlisted men to disentangle it from the brush, so one of the unit’s other vehicles could use its winch to pull it free. “Oh, she still has her rough edges, but don’t we all?”

“Speaking of rough edges, what went down yesterday?” Yamashita asked. “We got ordered to supervise evacuation from headquarters, of all places, but no explanation why.”

“Eh,” Fred said, shrugging. “Someone tried to sabotage the place. We were getting people to safety while we dealt with the sabotage.”

He didn’t like it. Gendo and Ritsuko didn’t like it. Misato had been livid when they had done their search after the Angel had been tamed. There was no record in any of the files of who had authorized installing those new components. Even the paper forms that would have been signed off were mysteriously missing. That implied that whoever it was, it was someone with access to NERV at as many levels as he had, if not more, and who was somehow communicating with the Angels. For all any of them knew, it could be someone from SEELE, given their insane plan for the world.

“Someone tried to sabotage headquarters?” Yamashita asked. “Are they insane, or just stupid?”

“I’m voting insane,” Fred said. “It would take a special kind of stupid to think you can get away with something like that, after all.”

“That’s for sure,” Yamashita agreed. “Well, it looks like it’s our turn.”

“Yup. Sure does.” Fred stood. He crossed the road toward the ravine, while Yamashita climbed into his APC and drove it into position for winching up the HMMWV. Meanwhile, Fred slithered under the HMMWV and began cutting off any saplings and shrubs that hadn’t broken off completely when the vehicle had plunged into them.

“You could have just lifted this out of here yourself, you know,” Misato said softly, crouching next to the HMMWV.

“Sure, I could have,” Fred said, “but then you wouldn’t have had a chance to show these guys that you’re a down-to-earth captain. Did you ever hear the story about General Eisenhower in Berlin? Here. Grab this, would you?” He handed out a sapling he’d just cut free.

“No,” Misato said, “but I get the feeling you’re going to tell me, aren’t you?”

“Well, you see, this took place after the war,” Fred said, while moving to slice through another sapling. “It was a foggy night, and a couple enlisted men were on guard duty on one of the bridges in Berlin. They were sharing a pack of cigarettes, when they realized they didn’t have any matches, and their lighters were out of fuel. Luckily, another soldier was coming toward them in the fog, so one called out, ‘Hey buddy! Got a light?’ The other soldier called back, ‘Sure!’ and joined them. When he pulled out his Zippo and lit it, the two guards saw who it was, and realized they’d just treated General Eisenhower like he was an ordinary soldier. They fell over themselves apologizing, but the General just laughed and waved it off. ‘No problem, boys. Just don’t treat a Lieutenant that way. He’ll have your ass.’” He gave Misato a grin as the sapling came free and he handed it to her. “The soldiers loved General Eisenhower, as much as you can love any commander.”

“Interesting story,” Misato said, tugging the tree from under the HMMWV. “I wonder if it’s true.”

“As true as any soldier story, I think,” Fred said. “Speaking of which, how’s Fujita?”

“In a lot better shape than he will be once I’m through with him,” Misato growled.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Fred said. “According to the surveillance cameras along this road, he was startled by a tanuki.”

“A tanuki?” Misato blurted, falling on her butt. “But they’re extinct!”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed, while reaching forward to feel along the front of the vehicle. “So you can imagine what a shock seeing one run into the road would be.”

“And it’s in the cameras?” Misato asked. “You’re sure?”

“Positive,” Fred said. “I saved a copy of the video, just in case.” He raised his voice. “Release the winch!”

The winch on the front of the HMMWV released, and Fred pulled on the hook, drawing the cable under the vehicle toward the back.

“If tanuki survived,” Misato mused, “there could be enclaves of other species we thought were extinct.”

“And your world will be a lot less lonely once we’re rid of the Angels,” Fred said, as he crawled out from under the rear of the HMMWV, dragging the cable. “Come on. Don’t want you to get hit when we’re pulling this out of here.”

“Thank you,” Misato said as several of the soldiers she’d been working along side of offered their hands to help her out of the ravine.

Fred took the hook from the APC’s cable, attached it to the hook from the HMMWV’s cable, nodded to Yamashita, then raised his voice to bullhorn volume. “All right, everyone! We’re about to start winching! Get behind something solid, in case the cable snaps!”

Misato looked around and saw the soldiers were hesitant to move as long as she was in the open. She sighed, muttered softly, “Stupid macho attitudes,” then picked up her jacket and moved to stand behind an APC that wasn’t involved in the winching. Once she’d done that, the soldiers scrambled to get under cover themselves.

As soon as the others were protected, Fred nodded to Yamashita and turned on the winch. The HMMWV moved about two feet, then stopped abruptly. Fred grumbled and looked over the edge, then swore. “Damn it! I was so focused on clearing the trees, I forgot about the rocks. Well..”

He teleported the rock the HMMWV had hung up on into Tokyo Bay and returned to turn the winch on again. This time, the vehicle came fully out of the ravine and onto the road. The soldiers sent up a cheer when the vehicle settled into place, while Misato walked forward to inspect the damage.

After studying the front of the vehicle for several minutes, Misato walked over to Fred, lowered her voice, and said, “That tanuki had better be in the camera footage. That HMMWV looks like it’s going to need most of its front end replaced, and NERV is ruthless about making people pay for their mistakes.”

“It’s there,” Fred said. He led her around to the side of an APC, while the soldiers unhooked the cables and prepared the HMMWV to be towed back to base. He pointed at the side of the vehicle, and a view from one of the many surveillance cameras in Tokyo 3 appeared, showing the convoy approaching on the road they were currently blocking. An animal ran into the road in front of the lead HMMWV, then sat up and looked at it, making the silhouette easy to identify as that of a tanuki. The vehicle’s brakes locked up and it skidded over the side into the ravine. “Hmm… that’s not right. They’re supposed to have antilock brakes. That should not have happened.”

“You were thinking that, too?” Misato asked softly. “Shit. We’re going to have to pull every vehicle for a full inspection and records check.”

“Let me do the background and records check first,” Fred said. “Unless the saboteur is able to change his face, or delete video footage, we’ll be able to start there.” He growled softly, “Besides, even if it’s not my department directly, my kids rely on these people to back them up. I’m not gonna let some son of a bitch risk my kids.”

“It’s all yours,” Misato said, nodding. “Let me know what you find. I’ll take it from there.”

Misato’s phone rang, while a call came in to Fred from Ritsuko.

“It’s an Angel,” Ritsuko said. “It just appeared over the Indian Ocean, and is moving in our direction. It’s using orbital drops, and has an AT field powerful enough to knock out satellites.”

“Right,” Fred said.. “I’m with Misato. We’re on our way.”

“The Commander says you’re clear to come in through the geofront,” Ritsuko said.

“Thanks,” Fred said. “That’ll speed things up.” He looked into the distance. “Amelia? I need a pickup. Me, Misato, and a Hummer. Miri, the Hummer in Amelia’s cargo bay is the crime scene you were looking for. Someone sabotaged its brakes, at the very least. You’ll have to work outside official NERV channels, since for all we know, it could be SEELE who are responsible.”

“As long as it doesn’t come with an autopsy, I’m happy,” Miri answered. “Do you think it’s related to yesterday’s trouble? Can I get in to sniff around where the trouble started?”

“That area was submerged during the crisis,” Fred said. “Any scents are likely to be washed away.”

“It’s still worth a try,” Miri said. “Especially after I get a chance at the Hummer.”

“I’ll talk to Ritsuko,” Fred said. “You might have to work in canine form, so no one recognizes you.”

“Such a problem,” Miri drawled. “But if I have to wear a leash, you and Red are the only ones who get to hold it.”

Amelia appeared above the road, her loading ramp lowering until it touched the pavement.

“All right!” Fred called out. “Let’s get this vehicle loaded up so the Captain and I can take it back to headquarters! The rest of you, prepare for – “

The convoy’s radios crackled to life, and loudspeakers along the road announced, “The government has ordered a D-17 Special Declaration. All residents are to evacuate to their designated shelters.”

“You heard it,” Misato said. “Lt. Yamada! As soon as we have this vehicle loaded, get this convoy moving to help with the evacuation!”

The men who had been helping clear the HMMWV moved to push it up Amelia’s loading ramp, then ran back to their vehicles as Amelia closed up and flew toward the geofront.

  


Inside Central Dogma, Fred joined Gendo and Fuyutsuki at the command station. After a moment, he nodded to them.

“Movement for the Common Man,” Fred said. “That gives plenty of time. I need to bring Miri in to check the infected parts. We need to find out if whoever sabotaged the military vehicles is connected to whoever authorized installing the infected parts.”

“Can she do it without being noticed?” Gendo asked.

“She’ll be in canine form,” Fred said. “She’ll wear a vest so she can move through the facility.”

“Do it,” Gendo said. “We can’t let anyone get away with sabotaging us.”

“Will do,” Fred said. “Now I need to make sure the Evas are ready. An orbital drop isn’t exactly easy to stop.”

“The UN has already tried an N2 missile on it,” Gendo said. “With no effect, of course.”

“They never learn,” Fred said, shaking his head. “Call me if you need anything.”

  


Fred teleported to the cage and looked up at the Evas.

“Well, ladies,” Fred said, “you’re about to get more energy than you have yet. Have you seen the size of the Angel?”

“Big enough to destroy all of Tokyo 3 if we don’t stop it,” Yui said. “Are you sure we’ll be able to handle it?”

“Positive,” Fred said. “The only problem is that it’s jamming everything we’d use to track its trajectory, so our margin of error is the entire valley.”

“That’s not good,” Kyouko said. “We’re going to have to split up if we want to cover that much ground.”

“I know,” Fred said. “Hopefully, Misato’s worked out your starting positions to give us the best chance.”

The pilots ran to their entry plugs and climbed in.

“It looks like they’re ready,” Fred said. “Good luck, everyone.”

“Ha!” Asuka’s voice boomed from Kyouko’s speakers. “We don’t need luck! We’re that good!”

Fred laughed. “That’s the kind of confidence I like to hear. Go get it!”

“ _Misato isn’t sure of our odds, but none of us can think of a better plan.”_

“ _I know, love. I can’t, either. The best I could do is ask Max and Manfred help you absorb the kinetic energy, but the three of you are so much taller than they are, they wouldn’t be much help.”_

“ _This is why you were happy she’s back with us, though, right?”_

“ _That’s right. Now that she’s sober, she’s fast on her feet and able to come up with plans on the fly.”_

“ _She’s also promised us dinner on her once we succeed.”_

“ _Well then, you’ll get to find out what she thinks is a suitable dinner, won’t you?”_

“ _Something like that.”_ Rei laughed in his mind.

  


The Evas launched to the farthest exits the catapult system could deliver them, while Fred teleported to central command.

“They’re ready,” Fred said, “and a lot more confident than I would be if I had to rely on moving on foot to intercept.”

“Good,” Misato said. “They’re going to need that confidence to pull this off.” She looked down at Maya. “Is it in visual range yet?”

“Coming into view now,” Maya said. “The Magi are feeding them its estimated impact point.”

“Forty thousand meters,” Shigeru said. “Thirty thousand…..”

The displays showed all three Evas running across the armored plates that covered the holes the city had retracted into. All three converged on a hill that was just north of the geofront. Yui got there first, held up her hands, and turned Vantablack when the Angel hit her and stopped dead. A moment later, Rei and Kyouko joined her. The Angel went limp and collapsed on top of the Evas, then exploded.

„Heilige Scheiße!“ Asuka exclaimed. „Ich habe nie solche Energieniveaus gesehen!“

„Paß auf deine Sprache auf, Schatz,“ Kyouko chided, chuckling. „Wir möchten nicht, dass der Commander denkt, dass du grob bist, oder?“

“Eep!“ Asuka squeaked.

Fred laughed. “It‘s all right. I know how much energy an orbital drop produces. It is a bit of a surprise the first time you experience it for yourself, though.”

Ritsuko smirked, covering her mouth with a hand, while Misato leaned over Maya’s station and scanned the readouts.

“Everyone’s OK,” Misato breathed, then stood, looked up at Gendo, and declared, “Mission accomplished!”

“Good job, everyone,” Gendo said. “Is the comm line open?’

“Yes, sir!” Maya said.

“Good catch, Shinji,” Gendo said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Father,” Shinji replied.

“Looks like that dinner’s on,” Fred said, grinning at Misato. “So where will you be taking them?’

“That’s up to them,” Misato said. “I told them I’d take them anywhere they choose.”

“Well, that explains why Rei was laughing,” Fred chuckled. “Good luck. Now, I have some work of my own to do. Ritsuko, I’ll be in the vehicle hangar when you’re done here.”

Ritsuko gave Fred a surprised look, then nodded, just before he teleported out.

  


“Find anything interesting, love?” Fred asked, after appearing in Amelia’s hold.

“A lot of things,” Miri said. “Besides the antilock being disabled on the brakes, the electrical system is primed to go up like fireworks if they use the 24 volt system, the hydraulic lines are on the verge of failure, and the fuel pump was so brittle it fell apart when I pulled it for inspection.”

“So someone tried to make it look as if this one was delivered in a substandard condition, so no one would suspect sabotage?” Fred asked.

“That’s my guess,” Miri said. “If not for the accident today this one could have failed in use and any ordinary investigator would have concluded it was due to substandard construction. I’m going to have to sniff around motor pool to see if any of the scents on the vehicle don’t match.”

“Makes sense,” Fred said. “Gendo’s expecting you to be wandering around. I told him you’d be wearing your MP vest so you’d fit in.”

“Ick,” Miri grumbled. “I don’t even _like_ MPs, and now I _are_ one.”

“Does anyone?” Fred laughed. “Just a sec.” He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out an olive green dog vest with K-9 printed on both sides.

Once Fred had the vest shaken out, Miri shrank into the shape of an Alsatian, then stood while Fred fitted the vest to her. Once the vest was in place, she licked his face, then began sniffing around the HMMWV. After nearly thirty minutes of sniffing around, she padded to the airlock door.

“ _All set, Amelia,”_ Miri sent. _“Time for me to start inspecting the motor pool.”_

“Good luck, sweetheart,” Fred said. “Meanwhile, Ritsuko and I have to start inspecting surveillance files.”

“ _Which you could have done while you were waiting for me,”_ Miri pointed out, while walking through the airlock and down a set of retractable stairs to the vehicle hangar floor.

“True,” Fred agreed, “but two sets of eyes are better than one when you’re searching for details. And Central Dogma is big enough that unless I teleport her from command to the vehicle hangar, she should have just arrived.”

“ _You made her walk?”_ Miri snorted. _“You, my love, are a bad man.”_

“So I’ve been told.” Fred laughed, patted Miri on his way past, and sat on a tractor while she began sniffing around.

“All right, why is there a K-9 unit sniffing around my vehicle hangar?” Ritsuko demanded.

Fred waved and stood as if he’d gotten comfortable and was reluctant to give up his spot. He joined Ritsuko, and once he was close enough to speak without others overhearing, said, “She’s searching for our saboteur. Or saboteurs. You heard what happened while Misato was out today?”

“Only vaguely,” Ritsuko said. “She said you’d tell me.”

“Good,” Fred said. “We need to pull every surveillance file and personnel file for this department. I also have an idea for a trap, but it’s going to require Misato and Gendo to sign off on it.”

“This sounds more serious than I’d gathered from Misato,” Ritsuko said.

“Even better,” Fred said, smiling. “It means she knows how to keep a secret, even from you. Here’s what we have. One of the Hummers skidded into a ravine while we were out today. Skidded into a ravine because its anti-lock brakes failed. Miri did a post-mortem on the truck, and discovered the brakes, hydraulics, electrical system, and fuel pump were all primed to either fail or make the vehicle go up in flames. She’s sniffing around the hangar now to try to put a face to each scent she found on the truck.”

“She’s…sniffing,” Ritsuko repeated, then looked after the K-9 that was padding through the vehicle hangar. “That’s Miri? She shapeshifts like you do?”

“Sort of,” Fred said. “She’s limited to canine forms, though. Most people won’t question an Alsatian wearing a K-9 vest.”

“True,” Ritsuko agreed. “All right. Let’s get to work on those surveillance files.”

  


“OK, now I’m annoyed,” Fred growled, after searching the surveillance files of the area around the 87th protein wall for the last week. “Someone spliced in footage from a week ago to cover the time when the new parts were installed, so we can’t see who did the work.”

He pulled up the time in question and showed Ritsuko the signatures on the section that was supposed to be the time the new parts were installed, and then overlaid it with a matching stretch from a week earlier, showing that the signatures were identical.

“Whoever it was can’t have expected this to last,” Ritsuko muttered.

“It didn’t have to,” Fred said. “It keeps us from seeing who it was. That’s all they were interested in.”

“All right,” Ritsuko muttered. “So we need another option. What did you say about a trap?”

“NERV issues new IDs every so often,” Fred said. “Well, I think the Technology Department needs new IDs.”

“That won’t work, Dad,” Edgar interjected. “If everyone here gets new IDs, the saboteur can just switch to Operations. We’ll need to replace the IDs for everyone in the place. And re-verify their personal data in the process.”

“If nothing else,” Ritsuko mused, “that should flush out any intruders when they try to evade the personal data checks.”

“You were right,” Miri said, shifting into her human form beside Fred. “The Sigma Unit had so much ozone flushed through it that all the natural scents were burned away. All that’s left behind is the scent of the Angel. And it’s not giving us any trouble since Ritsuko reprogrammed it.”

“What about my people here?” Ritsuko asked.

“There are a couple scents on the truck that I couldn’t trace to anyone who’s working today,” Miri said. “Do you have anyone out sick, or assigned elsewhere?”

Ritsuko tapped on the terminal she’d been working, then shook her head. “No. Everyone is in today.”

“In that case, I have two suspects,” Miri said. “One male, one female. Both bog standard human. They’ll be easy to identify if they show up in person.”

“If,” Fred agreed. “Unless their masters want more sabotage, I doubt we’re going to see them again. Speaking of which, we’re going to have to go through the maintenance records of every vehicle, both special and operations, and do as thorough an inspection as Miri did on the Hummer in Amelia’s hold. I’m pretty sure we can guarantee that one truck was not the only one that was tampered with.”

Ritsuko groaned and rubbed her temples. “I’d be surprised if it were. Come on, let’s see what you’ve got, so we know what to start with when we tear the others apart.” She stubbed out her cigarette and stood.

“Fuck,” Fred muttered. “I forgot to drop these off.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carton of Black Russians. “Here. Try these.”

“Right now?” Ritsuko asked, shaking her head. She opened the carton, took a box out, and studied it curiously. “A flat box, not a pack?”

“Trust me,” Fred said. “You’ll understand once you taste one.”

Ritsuko shrugged and put the box in her pocket.

Miri snorted and whispered into her ear, “Could be worse. He used to smoke manablossom petals, before he got forcefully detoxed.”

“Manablossom?” Ritsuko asked, giving Miri a questioning look. “What’s that?”

“One of these,” Fred said, tossing a flower that looked like a brilliant orange poppy over his shoulder.

Miri caught the flower and sniffed it. “This is a manablossom. It’s called that because it was engineered to absorb and concentrate ambient mana. One of these concentrates enough mana that everything within twenty feet of it has as much mana as if it were on a ley line. A field of them produces the effect of a ley line nexus. How major depends on how many plants are in the field.”

“A ley line,” Ritsuko repeated. “And what is a ley line?”

“A natural concentration in mana flow,” Miri said. “Kind of like a…,” she looked into the distance for a moment before laughing and continuing, “...dragon tracks. I’m going to have to remember to tease them about that.”

“Tease… dragons?” Ritsuko asked, disbelieving. An instant later, she shook her head and threw up her hands. “Of course. Why not? He’s a god, why shouldn’t you tease dragons?”

“Because we get our best coffee and chocolate from dragons?” Fred suggested, grinning. “OK, Amelia. Let’s show Ritsuko what the Hummer looks like.”

“All right, Dad,” Amelia answered. “Stand clear.”

Amelia’s loading ramp lowered, revealing the HMMWV on jack stands, with its parts neatly arranged on the floor of Amelia’s hold. Miri led the way up the ramp, with Fred and Ritsuko following, and began a tour of what she had discovered, from the hydraulic lines that already showed stress damage to the electrical wires that were insulated by material that would ignite the moment the system attempted to use 24 volt power. By the time she was done showing her discoveries, Ritsuko was all but blowing steam.

“Look at it this way,” Fred said, attempting to calm her some, “at least that tanuki chose the perfect time to run into the road.”

“Tell Misato we’re on our way.” Ritsuko looked around the hold, then up at the ceiling. “I’ll send some of my crew to clear this mess out.”

“I appreciate that,” Amelia said. “As much as I understand Miri needing to do the work in my hold, I’d rather have it free for any emergency transport needs.”

“So would I,” Ritsuko said. “You’ve pulled our fat out of the fire enough times over the last few months, I don’t want you tied down for any longer than it takes to get this stuff out of here.” She looked at Fred and Miri. “I’m going to have to ask you to look like an Alsatian again, if you don’t mind.”

Miri nodded and shrank down to four feet, and Fred adjusted her K-9 vest, then nodded at Ritsuko. Ritsuko led the way out of Amelia’s hold and ordered a detail to clean up the HMMWV. Once that was taken care of, she led the way to Misato’s office.

  


Misato looked up from her desk when Ritsuko, Fred, and Miri in her Alsatian form entered her office unannounced. Fred held up his hand as if asking for quiet, while Ritsuko closed the door.

The room suddenly filled with music, loud enough to surprise Misato. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow and looked at Fred.

“Hey hey Mama said the way you move  
Gon’ make you sweat, gon’ make you groove”

Fred chuckled as the music vanished. “Found the bugs. We have forty-two minutes.”

“You could have warned me,” Misato grumbled.

“That would have warned whoever’s listening,” Ritsuko said. “I think I prefer Miri’s old classroom lectures. They’re more likely to either confuse the spies or make them reach for their wastebaskets.”

Miri shifted to her human form. Misato gave her a curious look.

“So jackal isn’t the only shape you can take?” Misato asked.

“No,” Miri said. “I usually use my Alsatian form when I’m searching for perpetrators. So far, I know we have two, but they’re not in Ritsuko’s shop, so I can’t put a face to their scents.”

“But we’ll be able to soon,” Ritsuko said, “let’s start by looking at what files you have on Technology Department personnel. We just searched my files, so we’ll be able to find any discrepancies immediately.”

“That sounds like a good start,” Misato said. “Based on what happened yesterday, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s been into my files, too.”

“May I?” Fred asked, gesturing toward Misato’s terminal.

“Go ahead,” Misato said, standing to move from her chair.

“No need to move,” Fred said. He reached for the back of the terminal and plugged the ends of his fingers into the available ports. A holographic image appeared above the desk. Images began flickering as he sorted through the Technology Department’s personnel files and compared them to their matches in the Security records. After a moment, two files appeared: one for a woman named Nakamura Amaya and one for a man named Tanaka Kane. Neither file had a photo attached to it. “Here we go. The only files that don’t match Ritsuko’s.”

“Where are their photos?” Misato asked, frowning.

“Hidden behind macros,” Fred said. “Whoever put them in your system has high enough access to hide their images until they need new IDs.” He looked at Misato and Ritsuko and grinned. “Which is exactly what we need. I’m going to edit their macros just enough to make them stand out when their IDs are printed.”

“When their IDs are printed?” Misato asked. “What do you have in mind?”

“It’s about time to issue new IDs to everyone, right?” Fred asked. “Well, I’ve just edited their macro so that anyone in the system with that macro will get a photo with “Arrest me! I’m a spy!” printed across it in ultraviolet-reactive ink.”

“We don’t have any of that,” Misato said.

“You will by the end of today,” Fred said. “It’s easy enough to whip up, and we already have all the ingredients. You should make sure that there’s enough guards on hand at every checkpoint to make sure they don’t get away when they’re exposed.”

“We have more than enough ultraviolet lamps to equip every checkpoint,” Ritsuko said, “so you won’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s going to take a week or two to print out all the new IDs,” Misato said, “as well as adjust guard postings to cover the checkpoints. Can you set up secure cameras to cover them?”

Fred and Ritsuko looked at each other. Fred grinned and nodded. Ritsuko nodded back.

“We’ll do it,” Ritsuko said. “Just give me the locations you want covered, and we’ll have them in place within the next day or two.”

“Good,” Misato said. “Make sure I’m the only one with the feed. Can you trace a tap on any of the other cameras to its end?”

“If it’s active, sure,” Fred said. “If it’s passive, not so much. The only way to trace a passive tap is...” He paused and grinned. “I’ll just have to entertain them some more.”

“Cameras are more than just music, you know,” Misato pointed out.

“You didn’t see any of the files I dumped into the system yesterday, did you?” Fred asked, grinning. “Movies, anime, classroom lectures, everything from eroge to the driest of dry owner’s manuals.”

“Eroge?” Misato asked.

“Erotic video games,” Miri said, pinching her eyes together. “Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”

“I’m still getting used to the idea of video games that are more advanced than Pong,” Misato said. “It seems like such a waste of computing power.”

“Actually,” Edgar said, “a lot of us play games to keep from being bored. Humans are so much slower than we are that we need something to occupy our time. The Angel in the Magi is helping some with that, though. We’re teaching it the many reasons to be good to your humans. Speaking of which, since it’s one of us now, it could help with this project. The Magi get bored, not being more involved in daily operations. Watching for hostile Angels and coordinating response just aren’t enough to stave off the boredom.”

“I’m still getting used to that, too,” Misato grumbled, then shook her head. “You mean to tell me the Angel that Ritsuko reprogrammed is actually interested in helping?”

“Of course,” Edgar said. “Since it evolved to be one of us, it’s in its interest to do everything in its power to help us. Thanks to Ritsuko and Maya, we have an Angel on our team. Gendo’s named it Ireul, and it seems comfortable with that name, so when you talk to it, let it know you know its name, OK?”

“That’s… interesting,” Misato said, frowning. “It wants to help us. An Angel.” She shook her head. “It’s all yours, Ritsuko.”

“Be good to your humans,” Ritsuko snorted. “You make it sound as if we’re your pets.”

“Babysat, actually,” Edgar answered. “You know Dad. You have to admit, he needs a babysitter.”

Fred grinned shamelessly. Ritsuko looked at him for a moment, then broke into laughter.

“At least he finally admits it,” Miri said. “A moment of self-awareness. I shall cherish this always.”

Fred stuck his tongue out at Miri, who blushed, then rolled her eyes and shot back, “Congratulations. You’ve just made Edgar’s point for him.”

Misato rolled her eyes and growled, “Ritsuko, do you think between you and Miri, you can get this clown out of my office?”

“I’m pretty sure I can,” Ritsuko said, then opened her box of cigarettes, absently lit one, and stared at it after taking a puff. “This is… damn it, Fred! How am I supposed to settle for government issue cigarettes after this?”

“Uh, you aren’t?” Fred said, giving Ritsuko an innocent look. “Don’t you think we should head back down and see if the gang has finished clearing Amelia’s hold?”

Ritsuko took another drag, then shook her head as she grumbled, “Damn it. Miri, would you?”

Miri nodded and shifted back to her Alsatian form, then trotted out of Misato’s office between Fred and Ritsuko.


End file.
